Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Barnard, John Bishop, Bill Davidson, Steve Deakin-Davies, Simon Harwood, Ben Lewis and Lisa Nash.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg had offered apologies that she would arrive late for the meeting.

Audio recording – 46 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Barnard, John Bishop, Bill Davidson, Steve Deakin-Davies, Simon Harwood, Ben Lewis and Lisa Nash.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg had offered apologies that she would arrive late for the meeting.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 11 July 2019.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 11 July 2019 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

Audio Recording – 1 minute 19 seconds

It was proposed by Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb, seconded by Councillor Paul Clark and:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 11 July 2019 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

Members should notify the Chairman 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 Chairman will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 1 minute 44 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 Chairman 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)       Audio Recording

The Chairman advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded.

(2)        Declarations of Interest

Members were 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 were required to notify the Chairman 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.

(3)        Refreshments

The Chairman invited all Member to refreshments after the meeting in Committee Rooms 2/3.

She advised that, unfortunately there was no buffet this evening.

(4)        Comfort Break

The Chairman advised that, if the meeting were to go on beyond 9pm, she would call a 5 minute comfort break.

Members were reminded to remain in the room prior to any break to ensure that they could vote.

(5)        Councillor Jim McNally

The Chairman offered congratulations to Councillor Jim McNally who won a gold medal in Seoul for 3m diving. Also Jim and his new wife Barbara won a silver medal in synchronised diving.

(6)        Music Event

The Chairman announced that she would be holding a music night on Friday 1 November at 7pm in the Old Bull, Royston.

There would be bands to suit all tastes from a male voice choir to a rock band.

Tickets were just £15 per head and could be purchased through Committee Services or at the door.

All monies raised would support her chosen charity, Parkinsons UK (Royston).

(7)        Order of Business

The Chairman advised that Item 8 – Questions by the Public would be taken as part of Item 5 – Public Participation.

Audio recording – 1 minute 48 seconds

(1)       Audio Recording

The Chairman advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded.

(2)       Declarations of Interest

Members were 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 were required to notify the Chairman 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.

(3)       Refreshments

The Chairman invited all Member to refreshments after the meeting in Committee Rooms 2/3.

She advised that, unfortunately there was no buffet this evening.

(4)       Comfort Break

The Chairman advised that, if the meeting were to go on beyond 9pm, she would call a 5 minute comfort break.

Members were reminded to remain in the room prior to any break to ensure that they could vote.

(5)       Councillor Jim McNally

The Chairman offered congratulations to Councillor Jim McNally who won a gold medal in Seoul for 3m diving. Also Jim and his new wife Barbara won a silver medal in synchronised diving.

(6)       Music Event

The Chairman announced that she would be holding a music night on Friday 1 November at 7pm in the Old Bull, Royston.

There would be bands to suit all tastes from a male voice choir to a rock band.

Tickets were just £15 per head and could be purchased through Committee Services or at the door.

All monies raised would support her chosen charity, Parkinsons UK (Royston).

(7)       Order of Business

The Chairman advised that Item 8 – Questions by the Public would be taken as part of Item 5 – Public Participation.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

There were no presentations by members of the public.

Audio recording – 4 minutes 58 seconds

There were no presentations by members of the public.

To consider any questions submitted by Members of the public, in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.10 (c).

In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.10(c), Mr Philip Devonald had presented a question for Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb (Leader of the Council).

Audio recording – 5 minutes 5 seconds

In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.10(c), Mr Philip Devonald had presented a question for Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb (Leader of the Council) as follows:

"What progress has the Council made in addressing the climate emergency declared at the Annual Meeting in May?"

The Leader of the Council provided the following response:

“Thank you for your question.  Our administration sees addressing the climate emergency as a very high priority.

Since May the council has taken a number of steps towards addressing this:

We have set up a cabinet panel to gather the views of interested and informed local people and groups to help the council identify the steps it should take in the areas of cutting its own emissions, and enabling and encouraging others to do so.  This panel met for the first time last evening and, having listened, this will inform how we progress the work we have already started, including updating the Council’s Climate Change Strategy.

This includes first assessing the Council’s current carbon footprint. Although this in itself will not reduce our carbon output, it is important to identify the scope for savings and where the biggest rewards can be obtained quickest.

Early progress has included beginning the process of switching the Council’s own gas and electricity supplies to renewable sources, investigating the installation of solar panels on as many Council buildings as feasible and looking at ways of reducing energy use in swimming pools and leisure centres.

Of course, the Council’s footprint only represents a small proportion of the carbon footprint of the district. In addition to reducing its own carbon emissions to a net zero by 2030, the Council has an important role to play in enabling residents and businesses to cut their own emissions, where the council can influence these directly.

It must also encourage residents and businesses to do this more widely, which is where the biggest dividends will result.

Responding to the emergency has implications for all Council areas and so, for example, we have begun the process of looking at planning policies relating to the energy performance of new homes and other buildings, examining what we can do to require performance in excess of that required by the building regulations and the extent to which we can require renewable energy technology to be incorporated.

We plan more electric vehicle charging points, both on street and in Council car parks and wherever possible new Council owned vehicles will be ultra low emission.

And we are engaging with the Woodland Trust to look at ways in which we can encourage both public and private sector land owners to plant more trees.

Another initiative has been to provide an incentive to taxi operators to use hybrid vehicles by offering reduced cost licences for these vehicles.

These are just some examples of action we are taking. 

I note that you will also be asking a question at the next Cabinet meeting and that will be an opportunity for my colleague  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

Any Items referred from other committees will be circulated as soon as they are available.

(A)       Item Referred from Cabinet – 30 July 2019 - Risk Management Update

RESOLVED: That the Annual Report on Risk and Opportunities be considered and noted.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable Council to consider the Annual Report on Risk Management.

(B)       Item Referred from Cabinet – 30 July 2019 – Meduim Term Financial Strategy 2020 - 2025

RESOLVED: That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020 – 2025 be adopted.

REASON FOR DECISION: Adoption of a MTFS and communication of its contents would assist in the process of forward planning the use of Council resources and in budget setting for 2020/2021 to  2024/2025, culminating in the setting of the Council Tax precept for

2020/21 in February 2020.

Audio recording – Start of Item – 12 minutes 52 seconds

(A)       Item Referred from Cabinet – 30 July 2019 - Risk Management Update

The Executive Member for Finance and IT presented the referral from Cabinet regarding the Risk Management Update including the following documents:

·                Referral from Finance, Audit and Risk Committee considered by Cabinet 30.07.19

·                Report considered by Cabinet 30.07.19;

·                Appendix A - New Risk Anti Social Behaviour;

·                Appendix B - Annual Report on Risk Management.

Cabinet recommended to Council: That the Annual Report on Risk and Opportunities be considered and noted.

The Executive Member for Finance and IT drew attention to:

·                Section 3 – Changes to Risk;

·                Section 6 – Business Continuity.

He thanked officers for the work undertaken during 2018/19 and advised Members of the challenges for the upcoming year.

It was proposed by Councillor Ian Albert, seconded by Councillor Kate Aspinwall and:

RESOLVED: That the Annual Report on Risk and Opportunities be considered and noted.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable Council to consider the Annual Report on Risk Management.

(B)      Item Referred from Cabinet – 30 July 2019 – Meduim Term Financial Strategy 2020 - 2025

The Executive Member for Finance and IT presented the referral from Cabinet regarding the Medium Term Financial Strategy including the following documents:

·                Referral from Finance, Audit and Risk Committee considered by Cabinet on 30.07.19;

·                Report considered by Cabinet 30.07.19;

·                Appendix A - Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020-25 (As amended).

Cabinet recommended to Council: That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020-25 as attached at Appendix A be adopted.

The Executive Member for Finance and IT drew attention to:

·                The Strategy had been reviewed by Finance, Audit and Risk before being considered by Cabinet;

·                The Council was required to set a balanced budget;

·                Paragraphs 2.5 to 2.17 set out the assumptions made;

·                Since the report was written some further information had been received;

·                The spending review had clarified some of the uncertainty for next year, although now pushed that uncertainty to the following year;

·                Funding would not be reduced due to the negative support grant;

·                For one year the Council would have more funding than had been estimated;

·                The limit on Council Tax increases would likely be 2 percent rather than the current 3 percent;

·                Homelessness funding was welcome, but not a significant amount;

·                The Council needed to consider how to manage the one off benefit;

·                Officers still needed to identify savings;

·                It may be necessary to build in impacts regarding Brexit;

The Executive Member for Finance and IT thanked officers for their help.

The following Members took part in the debate:

·                Councillor David Levett;

·                Councillor Richard Thake.

It was proposed by Councillor Ian Albert, seconded by Councillor Sam North and:

RESOLVED: That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020 – 2025 be adopted.

REASON FOR DECISION: Adoption of a MTFS and communication of its contents would assist in the process of forward planning the use of Council resources and in budget setting for 2020/2021 to  2024/2025, culminating in the setting of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – LEGAL AND COMMUNITY/MONITORING OFFICER

For Full Council to agree an amendment to the Standards Committee membership (7.2.2), increasing the maximum non-voting co-optee numbers to four and thereafter to confirm the appointment of two further co-optees to the Standards Committee (bringing the current numbers to three).

RESOLVED:

(1)       That Paragraph 7.2.2 of the Constitution be amended, to a maximum of four Parish Council co-optees as non-voting members of the Standards Committee;

(2)       That Councillor Dr Julie Magill MBE (Barkway Parish Council) and Councillor Amy Bourke-Waite (Royston Town Council) be appointed as non-voting co-optee members to the Standards Committee.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: The increase in co-optee numbers will widen the engagement and further promote the ethical standards message in the District. This also ensures that there is Parish/Town or Community Council in-put into the Standards Committee and Sub-Committees (as may be required).

Audio recording – 29 Minutes 57 seconds

The Service Director – Legal and Community/Monitoring Officer presented the report entitled Minor Amendment Standards Committee Co-Optee Numbers and Appointment of Parish/Town Representatives to Standards Committee

It was proposed by Councillor Judi Billing, seconded by Councillor Ruth Brown and:

RESOLVED:

(1)       That Paragraph 7.2.2 of the Constitution be amended, to a maximum of four Parish Council co-optees as non-voting members of the Standards Committee;

(2)       That Councillor Dr Julie Magill MBE (Barkway Parish Council) and Councillor Amy Bourke-Waite (Royston Town Council) be appointed as non-voting co-optee members to the Standards Committee.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: The increase in co-optee numbers will widen the engagement and further promote the ethical standards message in the District. This also ensures that there is Parish/Town or Community Council in-put into the Standards Committee and Sub-Committees (as may be required).

To consider any questions submitted by Members of the Council, in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11 (b).

In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(b), three questions had been submitted by Members by the deadline date for questions set out in the Council’s Constitution regarding the following:

(A)            Garden Waste Re-Subscription

(B)            Community Infrastructure Levy

(C)            Educational Provision in the Local Plan:

Councillor Richard Thake declared that he was an elected Member of Hertfordshire County Council and in asking this question, which clearly has implications for the provision of education, for which the County Council is the statutory provider, wished to make it clear that he did not consider that there was any interests that would be improper. He was asking the question as a concerned parent, grandparent and resident of North Hertfordshire because of his concerns about the future of education.

Audio recording – 33 minutes 12 seconds

In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(b), three questions had been submitted by Members by the deadline date for questions set out in the Council’s Constitution as follows:

(A)      Garden Waste Re-Subscription

Councillor David Levett to Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg (Executive Member for Recycling and Waste Management):

“Following the extension to the previous charging period for Garden Waste and the introduction of stickers to identify those residents who have paid for collection of garden waste could the Executive Member say how many households have re-subscribed to the service and what percentage uptake this represents?”

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg (Executive Member for Recycling and Waste Management provided the following response:

“There is a question more answerable and probably the one intended. The question how many households have re-subscribed was difficult to get the data for, as it would be onerous on officers to pull together the data regarding all those who subscribed last year but didn’t this year and it would exclude all of the people who did not subscribe last year, but have subscribed this year.

I think Councillor Levett may be asking how many households had signed up to the service this year and what percentage that amounts to.

As of 3pm today, 25,475 households have signed up to the Garden Waste Service which is 47.8 percent of the households in the District (June, July, August and 1-12 September 2019)

During the first 3 months of the 2018/19 subscription period, noting that these were different months due to the extension, 21,354 households who had paid for one or more garden waste bins to be collected.

Some residents have paid for more than one bin, the total number of bins that have been paid for in June, July and August this year is 25,366, last year the total number of bins paid for was 21,732. In the comparable period of the first 3 months more people had subscribed this year.

Based on anecdotal evidence there are some people who have chosen to drop out of the scheme, but equally there are new households who have opted in and once the autumn leaf fall period is past perhaps we can do some analysis and if you really want to know which households have chosen not to re-subscribe and try to think about the reasons customers might chose not to, then that is a piece of work we could do later in the year.

I feel that, at the moment, bearing in mind the pressures on the department, its possibly not the right time to be doing that work,”

Councillor David Levett asked the following supplementary question:

“That was part of the answer, but it was also to find out why people had not re-subscribed, but this data can be looked at later.

Bearing in mind that answer, the new Administration, prior to the election made a number of commitments regarding the charging for garden waste and brown bins ie:

·                 Bin the brown bin tax now;

·                 Liberal  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

To consider any motions, due notice of which have been given in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12.

The following motions had been submitted, due notice of which had been given in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12:

A.      Governance Review

RESOLVED: That, in order to meet the Administration’s commitment to a more inclusive and open approach to decision making, Council agrees to ask officers, in consultation with an all party working group, to review its governance arrangements and constitution and report back to Council in due course.

B.      Pets as Prizes

RESOLVED:

This Council:

·                Is concerned about the number of cases reported to the RSPCA each year, regarding pets given as prizes via fairgrounds, social media and other channels;

·                Is further concerned for the welfare of those animals being given as prizes;

·                Recognises that many cases of pets being given as prizes may go unreported each year; and

·                Supports a move to ban the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on North Herts District Council Land.

The Council agrees to:

·                Ban outright the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on North Herts District Council Land; and

·                Write to the UK Government, urging an outright ban on the giving of live animals as prizes on both public and private land in England;

·                That officers be requested to prepare an NHDC Land Licences Policy to ensure that Council owned land is only used for proper and fit purposes.

C.      NO DEAL BREXIT AND PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT:

RESOLVED:

That this council:

1.          In following Government instructions to prepare for a No Deal Brexit is aware of the risk that this could result in impossible demands being placed on this and other Hertfordshire Councils and all other work grinding to a halt.

2.         Is dismayed that the Prime Minister has announced his intention to prorogue Parliament in the midst of a constitutional crisis, with the increasing threat of a catastrophic No Deal Brexit.

3.         Condemns the suspension of Parliament by the Prime Minister and the silencing of elected representatives at a time of such national importance as undemocratic.

4.         Is conscious of the highly damaging effects of a No Deal Brexit on all residents of the District.

5.         Recognises and understands the concerns of its residents who are EU nationals and the threat a No Deal Brexit presents to their stability and wellbeing.

This council resolves to:

1.         Make urgent representations to the Prime Minister urging him to abandon his plan to prorogue Parliament and to ensure that Parliament is fully involved in the decision making process regarding Brexit and any future Withdrawal Agreement.

2.         Communicate to residents the possible outcomes of a No Deal Brexit and advise them of how to prepare for this eventuality, publicising the link to Council website on preparing for Brexit.

3.         Take positive steps to alert residents who are EU nationals to inform them of the importance of applying for Settled Status, providing information about this process and signposting them to the website link and other appropriate support.

4.         Make information available at surgeries and other local events and  ...  view the full decision text for item 42.

Audio recording – 48 minutes 40 seconds

The following motions had been submitted, due notice of which had been given in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12:

A.      Governance Review

It was moved by Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb and seconded by Councillor Carol Stanier that:

“In order to meet the Administration’s commitment to a more inclusive and open approach to decision making, Council agrees to ask officers, in consultation with an all party working group, to review its governance arrangements and constitution and report back to Council in due course.”

The following Members took part in the debate:

·                 Councillor David Levett.

Upon the vote it was:

RESOLVED: That, in order to meet the Administration’s commitment to a more inclusive and open approach to decision making, Council agrees to ask officers, in consultation with an all party working group, to review its governance arrangements and constitution and report back to Council in due course.

B.      Pets as Prizes

It was moved by Councillor Carol Stanier and seconded by Councillor Ruth Brown that:

“This Council:

·                Is concerned about the number of cases reported to the RSPCA each year, regarding pets given as prizes via fairgrounds, social media and other channels;

·                Is further concerned for the welfare of those animals being given as prizes;

·                Recognises that many cases of pets being given as prizes may go unreported each year; and

·                Supports a move to ban the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on North Herts District Council Land.

The Council agrees to:

·                Ban outright the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on North Herts District Council Land; and

·                Write to the UK Government, urging an outright ban on the giving of live animals as prizes on both public and private land in England.”

Councillor David Levett proposed and Councillor Strong seconded an amendment to the motion as follows:

That an additional line be added to read:

“That officers be requested to prepare an NHDC Land Licences Policy to ensure that Council owned land is only used for proper and fit purposes.”

The following Members took part in the debate:

·                 Councillor Michael Weeks;

·                 Councillor Steve Jarvis.

Councillor Carol Stanier accepted the proposed amendment to the motion

Upon the vote it was

RESOLVED:

This Council:

·                Is concerned about the number of cases reported to the RSPCA each year, regarding pets given as prizes via fairgrounds, social media and other channels;

·                Is further concerned for the welfare of those animals being given as prizes;

·                Recognises that many cases of pets being given as prizes may go unreported each year; and

·                Supports a move to ban the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on North Herts District Council Land.

The Council agrees to:

·                Ban outright the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on North Herts District Council Land; and

·                Write to the UK Government, urging an outright ban on the giving of live animals as prizes on both public and private land in England;

·                That officers be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.