Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting.

Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tony Hunter who was substituted by Councillor George Davies and Councillor Nigel Mason who was substituted by Councillor Sean Nolan.

Audio recording – 1 minutes 36 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tony Hunter who was substituted by Councillor George Davies and Councillor Nigel Mason who was substituted by Councillor Sean Nolan.

N.B. Councillor Ian Moody entered the meeting at 19.31 and Councillor Carol Stanier entered the meeting at 19.32.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 1 minute 55 seconds

There was no other business notified.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda.  Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)       The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(2)       The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and 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.

(3)       The Chair advised Members had been provided with a briefing note ahead of the Call to Account item.

(4)       The Chair advised that there was a change to the agenda order and Items 8, 9 and 10 would be taken ahead of Item 7.

(5)       The Chair advised that a short break would take place following the conclusion of the Call to Account items.

Audio recording – 1 minute 59 seconds

(1)        The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(2)        The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and 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.

(3)        The Chair advised Members had been provided with a briefing note ahead of the Call to Account item.

(4)        The Chair advised that there was a change to the agenda order and Items 8, 9 and 10 would be taken ahead of Item 7.

(5)        The Chair advised that a short break would take place following the conclusion of the Call to Account items.

To consider any matters referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to a call-in of decision. At the time of printing the agenda, no items of business had been called-in.

There were no Called In items.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 35 seconds

There were no Called In Items.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

The Chair invited Ms Deborah Pollard to provide the Committee with a verbal presentation regarding the Lord Lister Call to Account.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 38 seconds

N.B. At the start of this item, Councillor Val Bryant advised that as she was Chair of the Planning Control Committee at which the Lord Lister planning application was considered, she would be recusing herself for Items 8 and 10.

The Chair invited Ms Deborah Pollard to provide the Committee with a verbal presentation regarding the Lord Lister Call to Account.

Ms Pollard thanked the Chair and provided Members with a verbal presentation, including:

·       This presentation intended to offer clarity on the Lord Lister hotel, which had been of concern to residents.

·       It was disappointing that only one pack of documents had been made publicly available.

·       The issues surrounding anti-social behaviour were not planning considerations as detailed at the Planning Control Committee, and therefore should form part of the questioning to take place.

·       There needed to be a tipping point at which anti-social behaviour experienced by local residents outweighed the benefit of the scheme.

·       The documentation suggested that public consultation could not take place due to this being a time critical process.

·       Transparency was fundamental to democracy.

·       Should special urgency powers have been used to agree a 10 year contract?

·       It was noted that housing and planning should be separate, but the Strategic Housing Manager had advised Keystage on ways to deal with potential issues.

·       There was not enough due diligence carried out, with no comparison to national schemes considered.

·       Why was funding provided to Keystage and why was the contract awarded if Keystage could not fund the scheme?

·       Engagement with stakeholder networks progressed following the residents complaints.

There were no points of clarification raised by Members for Ms Pollard and the Chair thanked her for her contribution.

N.B. Following the conclusion of Ms Pollard’s presentation, Councillor Alistair Willoughby advised that, as he was now the Deputy Executive Member for Housing and Environmental Health with oversight of this area, he would not be taking part in the debate or votes on Items 8 and 10.

To receive and respond to any questions from Members either set out in the agenda or tabled at the meeting.

There were no questions submitted by Members.

Audio recording – 10 minutes 34 seconds

There were no questions submitted by Members.

RESOLVED: That the comments from Overview and Scrutiny, as outlined in detail in the minutes of the meeting, be added to Appendix 12 of the Cabinet report, to be noted and considered by Cabinet before making the substantive decision.

Audio recording – 128 minutes 15 seconds

N.B. Councillor Val Bryant returned to the meeting following the conclusion of Agenda Item 10. Councillor Alistair Willoughby noted that, as he was part of the waste arrangement workshops, he would be recusing himself from this item.

.

Councillor Amy Allen, as Executive Member for Recycling and Waste, presented the report entitled ‘Future Service Design of Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Services’ and advised of the following:

·       The report seeks authority to proceed with a dialogue to agree a new waste service arrangement from 2025.

·       The report is based on outcomes from the joint working group between East and North Herts Council, and the details of changes to both services are included.

·       The key drivers for the changes are the impending national Resources and Waste Strategy and the financial pressures on Councils.

·       The proposed changes are to make the service more financially and environmentally sustainable.

·       The particular changes Members are asked to endorse are the reduction of residual waste, supported by weekly food waste collection and two weekly recycling. The textiles and battery collection service will be stopped.

·       These changes will be supported by communications and funding for additional staff.

The Shared Waste Service Manager noted that in the report, point 8.31 should read 122 tonnes, not 122k tonnes as written.

Councillor Adam Compton noted that Members at the workshopsdid come up with consensus on proposals but this was based on the options provided.

N.B. Following his comment, Councillor Adam Compton advised that he had also taken part in the waste workshop and would recuse himself from this item.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Carol Stanier

·       Councillor George Davies

·       Councillor David Levett

·       Councillor Claire Strong

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Raj Bhakar

In response to questions, the Shared Waste Service Manager advised:

·       In terms of items like pet litter and faeces it is accepted that the smell is not pleasant, but it is in a bin with a lid and there are alternative options available for this.

·       In terms of nappy waste provision for this will be made and full details of this policy will be provided in spring 2023 to allow for conversations with providers.

·       Confusion over the new cycle will rely on the digital side of the services, with options for communication regarding this to be explored.

·       The Council is unable to charge for items other than garden waste, and therefore animal bedding cannot be included in the current garden waste bin.

·       Previously Parishes had been offered the chance to buy litter picking kits at cost and would look to do this again.

·       When North Herts introduced the 180 litre residual bin, there was a reduction in general waste, as habits changed to adapt to the new provisions. It was expected that a similar response would happen with these proposed changes.

·       The new Officer role was expected to be in place 6 months before the change, dependent on budgets.

·       Despite current comms, it was apparent from survey responses that residents did  ...  view the full minutes text for item 149.

REPORT OF THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND STRATEGIC HOUSING MANAGER

The Chair introduced the Call to Account item and welcomed Anthony Roche, Managing Director, Martin Lawrence, Strategic Housing Manager and Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg, Leader of the Council, who were in attendance to provide their account.

The Managing Director, Strategic Housing Manager and Leader of the Council presented their report entitled ‘Call to account of delegated decision taken on 13 August 2021 in accordance with ‘Special Urgency’ provisions contained in the Council’s Constitution’ and appendices, following which Members asked questions.

Audio recording – 10 minutes 42 seconds

The Chair introduced the Call to Account item and noted that some of the documents provided were within Part 2 and therefore should not be discussed in Part 1 and that the Planning application could not be considered.

The Chair outlined the four subject areas to cover in questioning, these were; reason for urgency, grant allocation, choice of Keystage and performance monitoring. These were detailed in the briefing papers provided for Members and some questions under these topics had been suggested. 

The Chair welcomed Anthony Roche, Managing Director, Martin Lawrence, Strategic Housing Manager and Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg, Leader of the Council, who were in attendance to provide their account, alongside the accompanying report entitled ‘Call to account of delegated decision taken on 13 August 2021 in accordance with ‘Special Urgency’ provisions contained in the Council’s Constitution’.

Martin Lawrence, the Strategic Housing Manager, provided an update for Members, which included:

·       It was over 20 years since North Herts Council had its own housing stock, but it remained the local housing authority and so had a duty to carry out government policy regarding homelessness.

·       There were huge demands on housing across the district, and the country, which was having an impact on the affordability of housing available.

·       Homelessness remained stable across the district, but was prevalent and more and more issues were raised every day.

·       There was huge demand for accommodation pre-pandemic and during the pandemic there was a directive to provide people with accommodation if they were homeless, which included people staying with friends, sofa surfing, etc.

·       In 2021/22 there were around 150 people picked up as part of this, mostly individuals, who had to be found accommodation which was usually in hotels.

·       In May 2021 there were 67 hotel placements by the authority, some within the district but others in neighbouring districts.

·       When accommodation was provided, there was a chance to engage with other factors that may be affecting people, and it became apparent a lot of homeless people had further complex needs which required specific support.

·       There had been previous attempts to develop a specific site to deal with complex needs faced by homeless people, but these have often been proposed and then never been further developed.

·       Planning permission was granted in February 2021 by Haven First for a 40-bed hostel in Letchworth, but was met with local concern and objections and nothing has been able to move forward on this.

·       Due to social distancing requirements, the only available location in North Herts had only 5 beds available, with further 19-rooms provided temporarily at the former Templars Hotel in Baldock.

·       Funding had been made available, but providers could not use the money as there were no suitable locations.

·       The aim is to create a pathway from being homeless through to independent resettlement, with support provided along the way, which is where a supported housing scheme can be valuable.

·       There was a need to build up options available to deal with homelessness, with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 150.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Audio recording – 90 minutes 35 seconds

Councillor David Levett, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Claire Strong seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

REPORT OF THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND STRATEGIC HOUSING MANAGER

Details of decisions taken on this item are restricted due to the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of Section 200A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Details of decisions taken on this item are restricted due to the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of Section 200A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

N.B Following the conclusion of the Part 2 item, the Chair returned to Part 1 to conclude the proceedings.

The Chair noted that the contract and anti-social behaviour had been discussed in Part 2 and the next stage would be to produce a report based on the Call to Account and this would then be presented to Council.

The project was ongoing and there were undertakings and commitments made that had to be adhered and taking this into account, there would be a further report to Overview and Scrutiny on a date to be agreed.

The Strategic Housing Manager advised that Keystage had been given 3 months for the enhancements requested at Planning Control to be carried out. It would be unlikely that full capacity would be reached before 2023 and suggested that March 2023 to provide further details on the scheme.

The Chair noted that this would be too long, but acknowledged that 3 months would be too early, this would be agreed with the Scrutiny Officer outside of the meeting and added to the Work Programme.

The Chair advised that there were no recommendations on this, the report would be written, which would return to Overview and Scrutiny for comment before being referred to Full Council.