Agenda and minutes

A webcast of the meeting can be viewed here.

Mr Kind

The Chairman reported with sadness the death of former County Councillor Mr Alan Kind.

Mr Kind was a member of the County Council from 1991 to 2001 and represented the South Wigston electoral division.  He served as Chairman in 1997 to 1998 and was Cabinet Lead Member for Building a Healthier Community and Improving Economic Wellbeing for two consecutive years from 1999 to 2001.  He also served on a number of Committees including the Resources Committee, the Planning and Recreation Committee and the Economic Development and Employment Committee.

Members joined the Chairman by standing in silent tribute to the memory of Mr Kind.

Falklands War Remembrance

On Tuesday 14^th June at 3.00 p.m. the Chairman hosted a small remembrance service at Stand Easy to commemorate the ending of the Falklands War in 1982.  The timing of the event was to coincide with the Act of Remembrance which took place at the 1982 Cemetery in Port Stanley, 11.00 a.m. local time.  At the service the Chairman was joined by a group of former Paras who were marching from Rotherham to London in tribute to fallen Falklands War heroes.

Armed Forces Week

On Monday 20^th June to mark the start of Armed Force week Darren Watret who was currently employed as an Operations Manager in the Environment and Transport Department raised the Armed Forces Day Flag at a ceremony at Stand Easy.  Darren who served in the Army for 25 years and was posted around the world, including tours in Germany, Northern Ireland, Kuwait, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Saturday 25^th June, together with the Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Mayor of Leicester the Chairman attended Armed Forces Day in Leicester City. The parade was made up of service personnel, veterans, and cadets through the streets of Leicester.  Following the parade there was an outside ‘Drumhead Service’ in Green Dragon Square.  The Chairman said it was a very moving occasion.

Green Plaque

Last month the Chairman had the honour of unveiling a Green Plaque in honour of Fanny Deacon who was at the time the first woman in Britain to qualify to register as a pharmacist.  Fanny first registered as a chemist and druggist with the Pharmaceutical Society in 1869, but as a woman she was not allowed to become a member until 1879.

The Chairman said it was a great honour to unveil the plaque.

Summer Reception

The Chairman announced that he would be hosting his summer Reception at Beaumanor Hall on Thursday 28^th July at 6.30 p.m.  All Members had been invited and the Chairman hoped that all would be able to join him.

County Service

The Chairman confirmed that he would be hosting a County Service later in the year and all Members would receive an invitation in due course.

It was moved by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and carried:-

“That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 18^th May 2022, 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 the meeting.

No such declarations were made.

(A)      Question by MR CHARLESWORTH

“How many of the Members Highway Fund projects have been delivered in each ward across the county?  The reason I ask is because despite having over £20,000 worth of projects approved, not one has been delivered in the East Wigston ward.”

Reply by MR O’SHEA

“To date a total of 31 schemes have been delivered through the Members Highway Fund. “Delivered” refers to any scheme which has completed either through installation or grant transfer being issued.

A breakdown of the schemes is presented below, according to district/ electoral division.

With regard to schemes in Wigston East the position is as follows: -

There are currently 93 schemes which are in the “delivery stage”.  This refers to any scheme where the works have been ordered or design and/ or feasibility work is taking place.

Once works have been ordered and depending on the nature and scope of works, there can be a three-month lead time prior to the work being scheduled.

These remaining 93 schemes will be delivered this financial year.

The timescales involved in delivering the first year of the MHF initiatives have been due to a number of factors. The MHF scheme was not approved until June 2021 with many Members not being able to discuss options with their communities until September 2021. This meant that many scheme requests were not finalised until nearer the end of the financial year. This, along with current recruitment issues for the necessary additional resource for delivery, has meant that the majority of the schemes for 2021/22 fund are scheduled to be delivered in the current financial year.”

(B)      Question by MR CHARLESWORTH

“Earlier this year there was a case at the high court between Somerset County Council and NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group and others.  This case was as a result of a previous case at the Court of Appeal in May 2021, when in the course of proceedings it became clear that there had been a breach of the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 with respect to a decision made by a local authority, acting as an adoption agency, to apply for an order authorising a child’s placement for adoption.  The breach involved a failure to obtain a report on the child’s health or have advice from the agency medical adviser that such a report was unnecessary.  In addition the ‘child permanence report’ did not include a medical summary written by the agency medical adviser.

The result of the May 2021 case and another in November 2021 had caused other local authorities to review their own position with the result that a number identified the same, or similar, breaches of the medical elements of the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005.

Could the Leader please advise:

1.               Has Leicestershire County Council undertake a review of its position concerning Adoption Agency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Leader gave a position statement on the following matters:

·       Medium Term Financial Strategy

·       Cost of Living

·       Ukrainian Guests

·       Electric Vehicle Charging Points

·       Quorn Solar Farm

·       Pride Week

·       Queens Award for Voluntary Service

·       Census 2021

A copy of the Position Statement is attached.

It was moved by Mr Mullaney, seconded by Mrs Page and carried:

“That the information contained in the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2021/22, attached as Appendix A to this report, on its activities, be noted.”

(a)            Smoking – Mr M. Mullaney CC

1.      That this Council notes that:

a)        preventable disease continues to have a massive impact on the public’s health, the NHS and the economy;

b)        tobacco is the biggest preventable cause of cancer and death in the UK;

c)         decades of comprehensive policy action have meant adult smoking prevalence in the UK in 2019 was at a record low at 14.1%, but this masks significant inequality;

d)        the smoking rates in Leicestershire at 12.0% are slightly below average but still constitute a significant proportion of the local population;

e)        differences in smoking rates make it one of the leading drivers of health inequality, responsible for half the difference in life expectancy between the lowest and highest income groups in England;

f)          through their public health duties, local authorities are responsible for improving the health of their population and do this through services such as stop smoking services and wider tobacco control activities.

2.      That this Council:

a)      Believes that local government must be adequately resourced to fulfil their public health duties;

b)      Supports Cancer Research UK’s calls for a Smokefree Fund (a fixed annual charge on the tobacco industry, making the tobacco industry pay for the damage their products cause) to fund local tobacco control work, and urges the UK Government to consider implementing a Smokefree Fund as part of its efforts to tackle health disparities.

(a)            Smoking

It was moved by Mr Mullaney, seconded by Mrs Richardson, and carried:

“1.  That this Council notes that:

a)      preventable disease continues to have a massive impact on the public’s health, the NHS and the economy;

b)      tobacco is the biggest preventable cause of cancer and death in the UK;

c)      decades of comprehensive policy action have meant adult smoking prevalence in the UK in 2019 was at a record low at 14.1%, but this masks significant inequality;

d)      the smoking rates in Leicestershire at 12.0% are slightly below average but still constitute a significant proportion of the local population;

e)      differences in smoking rates make it one of the leading drivers of health inequality, responsible for half the difference in life expectancy between the lowest and highest income groups in England;

f)        through their public health duties, local authorities are responsible for improving the health of their population and do this through services such as stop smoking services and wider tobacco control activities.

2.      That this Council:

a)      Believes that local government must be adequately resourced to fulfil their public health duties;

b)      Supports Cancer Research UK’s calls for a Smokefree Fund (a fixed annual charge on the tobacco industry, making the tobacco industry pay for the damage their products cause) to fund local tobacco control work, and urges the UK Government to consider implementing a Smokefree Fund as part of its efforts to tackle health disparities.”