Agenda and minutes

Mrs Evelyn Ensor

 

It was with great sadness that the Chairman reported the passing of former Councillors Mrs Evelyn Ensor.  Mrs Ensor passed away on Monday, 11^th January 2021 aged 98.

 

Mrs Ensor served on the County Council from November 1976 to April 1985 and represented the Market Bosworth No 4 Electoral Division.

 

During her term of office, she was appointed Chairman of the Personal Services Subcommittee and as Vice Chairman of the Social Services Committee.  She also served as a member of the Environment Committee and Police Committee.

 

The Chairman called on members to stand in silent tribute to the memory of Mrs Evelyn Ensor.

 

Covid-19

 

The Chairman reminded members that it was coming up to a year since the impact of the coronavirus began to be felt in Leicestershire.

 

Plans are in hand with partners to mark the anniversary of the first case in Leicestershire on 6^th March and the first lockdown which followed on 23^rd March.  The County Council will be playing a key role in remembering those who had tragically lost their lives to Covid.

 

The Chairman mentioned the opportunities to thank key workers - those many officers in the Council - as well as the contribution of others.  As well as the efforts of volunteers and unpaid carers who had stepped forward through this year.

 

The Chairman also thanked all residents, reminding members they had played their part in reducing the spread of the virus - following the guidance to protect family and neighbours.  There will also be acknowledgment of those who had struggled through this year - facing hardship, isolation, mental health issues - or the long-term effects of Covid.

 

The Chairman was pleased to inform members that funding for the Watermead Memorial Walk had been secured earlier in the month and that there were also plans to dedicate a tree at County Hall in remembrance of those staff who had lost their lives.

 

The Chairman asked Members to look out for further details about the memorial activities and to reflect and find some comfort through them in what had been a difficult year.

 

It was moved by the Chairman, seconded by Mr Kaufman and carried:

 

“That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 2 December 2020, copies of which have been circulated to members, be taken as read, confirmed and signed.”

 

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to make declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.

 

It was assumed that all members who are members of District Councils would wish to declare a personal interest in relation to the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2021/22 to 2024/25.

 

The following members declared a personal interest in the MTFS:-

 

• Mr Pain CC in relation to passenger transport issues as his family operate a taxi business.

 

• Mr Phillimore CC in relation to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) issues due to his wife’s employment.

 

(A)   Mr Bray asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:

 

“Could the Leader update me on progress regarding a school crossing patrol for St Peter’s School, Hinckley?”

 

Mr Pendleton replied as follows:

 

“The school crossing patrol (SCP) for St Peter’s School in Hinckley has been vacant since 14^th July 2017.  We have ever since sought to recruit a patrol to this site on London Road and have done our best to attract candidates.  Because of the relatively short times of operation (45 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes in the afternoon) it is likely to appeal to someone with connections to the school and/or living in close proximity to the school.

 

Our service is reliant on members of the community coming forward to fill these paid school crossing patrol roles.  Unfortunately, to date no applications for this location have been received.

 

As with all our vacant SCP sites we will be reviewing this location once children return following the latest lockdown.  This will be to check the volume of traffic and number of pedestrians crossing – known as a PV² assessment.  We will then revisit our recruitment programme dependent on the outcome of this review.”

 

(B)      Mr Bray asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:

 

“Could the Leader update me on the highspeed broadband rollout in parts of Burbage which currently have poor speeds/coverage?”

 

Mr Pain replied as follows:

 

“Superfast Leicestershire is a £33.5m partnership led by the County Council, together with Openreach, LLEP, Government and district councils.  Since 2014, Leicestershire County Council has invested more than £20m to improve digital infrastructure through the Superfast Leicestershire Programme, resulting in more than 75,000 residential and business premises having gained access to superfast broadband across Phase 1 & 2 of the Programme, taking the broadband coverage across Leicester to 97%.

 

The Superfast Leicestershire Programme is committed to delivering further phases of high-speed broadband rollout, and the launch of Phase 3 of the Programme in August 2019 will see a further 2500 premises benefit from future proofed Gigabit capable full fibre connections across west Leicestershire, working with our delivery partner Openreach.

 

Specifically, as a result of the Programme’s intervention to date, superfast broadband coverage within Burbage, and across the Hinckley & Bosworth district as a whole has reached 95%.

 

We do not want to see any area left behind and are committed to working towards 100% superfast coverage across Leicestershire, and to seek all possible solutions to support the residents of Burbage and across the Hinckley & Bosworth area.

 

The remaining premises in Burbage which have poor broadband speeds are currently in the delivery plan within the Phase 3 Contract, of which the Superfast Leicestershire Team are focussing their efforts on ensuring all the unserved premises are planned-in to receive full-fibre broadband infrastructure.

 

The good news is, so far 20 premises within the Burbage area have recently been upgraded to full-fibre, and can now order gigabit capable broadband services, via their internet service provider.

 

We are prioritising and focussing our efforts on finding solutions for all unserved properties, and I have asked officers to work closely with BDUK and Outside-in Programme to ensure Leicestershire is at the front of the queue to be considered for BDUK funding to rollout full-fibre broadband to the remaining unserved areas and premises across Leicestershire. 

 

For information, Appendix A provides the current status of premises by post-code in the Burbage area planned in the Phase 3 delivery, including those that have recently been upgraded.”

 

Appendix A

 

No. of Premises	Post-Codes	Outcome
20	LE10 3EN LE10 3ES LE10 3ER LE10 3DP	Fibre-to-the-Premises infrastructure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.
32.	To receive position statements under Standing Order 8. PDF 3 KB Additional documents: Leaders Position Statement 17.02.2021 , item 32. PDF 198 KB Lead Member for Health Position Statement 17.02.2021 , item 32. PDF 184 KB Chairman of the Scrutiny Commission Position Statement 17.02.2021 , item 32. PDF 261 KB Minutes: The Leader gave a position statement on the following matters: ·       Litter Wombles ·       LGBT+ History Month ·       Covid Memorial Walk – Watermead Park ·       Supporting Residents, Community Groups and Businesses During Covid.   The Lead Member for Health gave a position statement regarding Covid Vaccinations and the work of the Council. The Chairman of the Scrutiny Commission gave a position statement on the work of the Scrutiny Commission.   Copies of the position statements are attached.
33.	Report of the Cabinet.
33a	Medium Term Financial Strategy 2021/22 to 2024/25. PDF 322 KB View the declarations of interest for item 33a Additional documents: Revised Cabinet Report : MTFS 2021-25 , item 33a PDF 880 KB Appendix A - 2021-22 Revenue Budget summary , item 33a PDF 32 KB Appendix B - 4 Year Revenue Budget 2021-25 , item 33a PDF 58 KB Appendix C - Growth and Savings 2021-25 , item 33a PDF 142 KB Appendix D - Savings Under Development , item 33a PDF 195 KB There are a further 13 documents.View the full list of documents for item 33a Minutes: It was moved by Mr Rhodes and seconded by Mr Shepherd:   (a)        That subject to the items below, approval be given to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which incorporates the recommended revenue budget for 2021/22 totalling £399m as set out in Appendices A, B and E of this report and includes the growth and savings for that year as set out in Appendix C;   (b)        That approval be given to the projected provisional revenue budgets for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25, set out in Appendix B to the report, including the growth and savings for those years as set out in Appendix C, allowing the undertaking of preliminary work, including business case development, consultation and equality and human rights impact assessments, as may be necessary towards achieving the savings specified for those years including savings under development, set out in Appendix D;   (c)        That approval is given to the early achievement of savings that are included in the MTFS, as may be necessary, along with associated investment costs, subject to the Director of Corporate Resources agreeing to funding being available;   (d)        That the level of the general fund and earmarked funds as set out in Appendix K be noted and the use of those earmarked funds as indicated in that appendix be approved;   (e)        That the amounts of the County Council's Council Tax for each band of dwelling and the precept payable by each billing authority for 2021/22 be as set out in Appendix M (including 3% for the adult social care precept);   (f)          That the Chief Executive be authorised to issue the necessary precepts to billing authorities in accordance with the budget requirement above and the tax base notified by the District Councils, and to take any other action which may be necessary to give effect to the precepts;   (g)        That approval be given to the 2021/22 to 2024/25 capital programme as set out in Appendix F;   (h)        That the Director of Corporate Resources following consultation with the Lead Member for Resources be authorised to approve new capital schemes, including revenue costs associated with their delivery, shown as future developments in the capital programme, to be funded from funding available;   (i)          That the financial indicators required under the Prudential Code included in Appendix N, Annex 2 be noted and that the following limits be approved:     2021/22 £m 2022/23 £m 2023/24 £m 2024/25 £m Operational boundary for external debt         i)  Borrowing 263 263 262 262 ii) Other long term liabilities 1 1 1 1 TOTAL 264 264 263 263           Authorised limit for external debt         i)   Borrowing 273 273 272 272 ii) Other long term liabilities 1 1 1 1 TOTAL 274 274 273 273   (j)          That the Director of Corporate Resources be authorised to effect movement within the authorised limit for external debt between borrowing and other long-term liabilities;   (k)        That the following borrowing limits be approved for the period 2021/22 to 2024/25: (i)          Upper limit on fixed interest exposures 100%; (ii)         Upper limit on variable rate exposures 50%; (iii)        Maturity of borrowing:-       Upper Limit Lower Limit   % % Under 12 months 30 0 12 months and within 24 months 30 0 24 months and within 5 years 50 0 5 years and within 10 years 70 0 10 years and above 100 25   (iv)        An upper limit for principal sums invested for periods longer than 364 days is 10% of the portfolio.   (l)          That the Director of Corporate Resources be authorised to enter into such loans or undertake such arrangements as necessary to finance capital payments in 2021/22, subject to the prudential limits in Appendix N;   (m)      That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33a