Agenda and minutes

Death of Member and Former Member of the Council

 

The Chairman referred to the sad news of the deaths of both a sitting member and a former Leader of the Council.

 

County Councillor Mike Preston had died on 18 August 2011, aged 67 years, after a battle with cancer.

 

Professor Preston had been elected to the Council for the first time in 1993 representing the former Fosse Electoral Division and subsequently the Syston Ridgeway Electoral Division.

 

Following the move to a Cabinet and Scrutiny system in 1999 he had become a member of the Cabinet and was Deputy Leader of the Council between 2001 and 2003 supporting the then Leader, Harry Barber.  Between 2003 and 2005 he had been Chairman of the Education Scrutiny Committee and a member of the Scrutiny Commission.  He had returned to the Cabinet in 2005 where he served until April of this year.

 

He had served for a period on the Pension Fund Management Board and was Chairman from 1999 to 2003. 

 

From 2005 to 2010 he had also represented the Council on the Combined Fire Authority.

 

He had also served as Conservative Chief Whip from 2005 until April 2011.

 

Former County Councillor Harry Barber had died on 26 August 2011 aged 81 years.

 

Harry Barber had been elected to the Council for the first time in 1989 and served until 2005 representing the former Loughborough Forest Electoral Division.

 

Following the move to a Cabinet and Scrutiny system in 1999 he had become Leader of the Council in a joint administration formed by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Groups.  He continued to lead the Council following the 2001 elections, this time leading a Conservative administration, when his deputy was the late Professor Mike Preston.  He had given up the leadership of the Council in 2003 but continued as a Cabinet member until he retired from the Council in 2005.

 

Mr Barber had been made an Honorary Alderman of the County in July 2005 in recognition of the eminent services he had rendered to the people of Leicestershire. 

 

Those present joined the Chairman in standing in silent tribute to the memory of Professor Mike Preston CC and Honorary Alderman Harry Barber.

 

Certificate of Outstanding Work

 

The Chairman reported with pleasure the good work of the County Council's Trading Standards Service which had recently been formally recognised by the Leicestershire Constabulary.

 

Louise Boyall and Sadie Hoyes, who worked for the Service, had each received a Certificate for outstanding work from Inspector Chris Brown, the Commander of the North West Local Policing Unit.

 

Both officers had showed impressive professionalism during a joint operation at this year’s Download Festival at Donington Park aimed at combating counterfeit products and ticket touting.

 

Louise had organised the deployment of Trading Standards Officers and Sadie had been vigilant in recognising an organised crime group and bringing it to the attention of the Police.

 

Members joined the Chairman in congratulating these members of staff on their excellent work.

 

Accreditation by the Service Desk Institute

 

The Chairman indicated that she was pleased to report that the County Council's ICT Service Desk had recently been awarded a 'Three Star accreditation' in an initial assessment by the Service Desk Institute and was seeking to achieve 'Four Stars' in 2012.  This was an international award held by only a select number of bodies.  It demonstrated that the service was customer led and made a valuable contribution to the Council's high quality ICT provision.

 

Members joined the Chairman in congratulating everyone concerned.

 

Elizabeth McCalla

 

The Chairman reminded members that this would be the last Council meeting that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

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

 

“That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 6 July 2011, 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.

 

The following members declared personal non-prejudicial interests in minute No. 124 below as members of the National Trust:- 

 

Mr A D Bailey, Mr D C Bill, Mr M H Charlesworth, Dr R K A Feltham, Mr G A Hart, Dr S Hill, Mr Max Hunt, Mr A M Kershaw, Mr K W P Lynch, Ms Betty Newton, Mr I D Ould, Mr M B Page, Mr J B Rhodes, Mrs J Richards, Mr P A Roffey, Mr R Shepherd.

 

(A)       Mr Partner asked the following questions of the Leader or his nominee:-

 

"1.       Why has the County Council made permanent staff redundant when it has then had to recruit staff to carry out their work, for example in the case of occupational therapists?

 

2.         Why have permanent staff been made redundant and then been written to offering them new posts in the customer service centre?

 

3.         Why have permanent staff been made redundant when the County Council is employing so many temporary staff?"

 

Mr Rushton replied as follows:-

 

"1.       As part of the Personalisation programme within the Adults and Communities Department, (A&C), social care staff were offered the opportunity to express an interest in voluntary redundancy in order to meet the efficiencies target identified in the MTFS.  As a consequence, the Department’s Management Team agreed to a significant proportion of these requests, in order to minimise the need for compulsory redundancies.  This included agreeing voluntary redundancies for occupational therapists as well as other social care staff.

 

However, in order to assist and stabilise the new arrangements, a small number of temporary resources have been required.  In addition, temporary resources have also been required to cover maternity leave and long term sickness.  These temporary measures have been put in place in order to maintain a safe and responsive Adult Social Care Service for Leicestershire residents.

 

2.         The Adult Social Care Customer Service Centre has had some difficulty in recruiting experienced and skilled staff despite placing several advertisements externally.  The Customer Service Centre has, therefore, explored alternative ways of recruiting staff who have an understanding of the service and service issues.  As a transitional arrangement 2 former Adults and Communities Department employees have been appointed on a temporary basis for 3 months.

 

3.         The County Council has an Organisational Change policy which sets out the process for managers to follow when making staff redundant.  The Council makes every effort to avoid compulsory redundancy situations by ending temporary contracts, seeking volunteers and redeploying employees who are at risk of redundancy to alternative jobs within the Council.  Most reviews focus on specific service areas and if there are no temporary contracts in that area then permanent staff would be made redundant.  In order to comply with the Fixed Term Workers Regulations, the Council treats temporary staff with two years service as permanent employees in service reviews.

 

The Council will make every effort to end a temporary contract before making a permanent employee redundant.  However there are occasions when a temporary staff member may have a specific skill set that the permanent employee does not have."

 

Mr Partner asked the following supplementary question:-

 

"I presume that the Council has incurred considerable costs in redundancy and pension payments, particularly in the case of any over 55's, who I assume would have their contributions topped up to compensate for lost years.  Would the Lead Member be prepared to reveal how much of this additional cost has been met by the County Council tax payer?"

 

Mr Rushton replied as follows:-

 

"I do not know but I will write to Mr Partner to let him know."

 

 

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

 

"Can the Leader please outline how Social Impact Bonds could benefit this Council in the medium to longer term?"

 

Mr Parsons replied as follows:-

 

"Social Impact Bonds are an exciting new way to bring in external finance to deliver better public outcomes for less and have the potential to provide lasting benefits within the County.  I am delighted that Leicestershire is one of four local authorities invited by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 120.

The Leader presented a position statement on the following matters:-

 

Social Impact Bond.

Enterprise Zone at MIRA.

Big Society.

 

The Lead Member for Climate Action presented a position statement on Flooding Issues.

 

The Lead Member for Children and Young People's Service presented a position statement on record breaking achievements in tests and examinations in 2011.

 

The Lead Member for Health presented a position statement on the following matters:-

 

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) Finances.

Safe and Sustainable Review of Children's Congenital Heart Services in England.

 

The Lead Member for Adults and Communities presented a position statement on the following matters:-

 

Reforming Adult Social Care.

Older People's Listening Month: September.

'Touching Minds'.

Multi Access Centre (MACs).

Heritage Events.

 

A copy of each position statement is attached to these minutes.

 

It was moved by Mrs Pendleton, seconded by Mr Orson and carried:-

 

"That the Leicestershire Rural Framework 2011-14, as referred to in Section A of the report of the Cabinet, be approved."

 

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

 

"That the Environment Strategy 2011-2021, as referred to in Section B of the report of the Cabinet, be approved."

 

It was moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr Rhodes and carried:-

 

"That the action taken by the Chief Executive, as referred to in Section C of the report of the Cabinet, be noted."

 

It was moved by Mr Slater, seconded by Mr Hart and carried:-

 

"That the proposed amendments to the Contract Procedure Rules, set out in Appendix A of the report of the Corporate Governance Committee, be approved."

 

a)         That this Council believes that the current draft National Planning Policy Framework fails to provide the necessary protection to local people and, therefore, urges the Government to think again about its proposals and to recognise the benefits of a genuine plan-led approach;

 

b)         That, accordingly, these views be incorporated into the Council's detailed response to the Department for Communities and Local Government's consultation on the draft Framework."

 

It was moved by Mr Bill and seconded by Dr Hill:-

 

"a)       That this Council believes that the current draft National Planning Policy Framework fails to provide the necessary protection to local people and, therefore, urges the Government to think again about its proposals and to recognise the benefits of a genuine plan-led approach;

 

b)         That, accordingly, these views be incorporated into the Council's detailed response to the Department for Communities and Local Government's consultation on the draft Framework."

 

An amendment was moved by Mr Rhodes and seconded by Mr Sprason:-

 

'That paragraph (a) be deleted from the motion and the following inserted in its place:-

 

"(a)      That this Council believes:-

 

i)          that the current draft National Planning Policy Framework is a welcome simplification of national planning guidance and provides a good basis for a genuine plan-led approach to future development;

 

ii)         that an effective plan-led approach will require district councils to put plans in place as soon as possible, engage closely with local communities and take full account of community views in developing their plans, including the need to protect valued green spaces, and work together on future development needs and the use of available funding across the wider Housing Market Area;

 

iii)        that the NPPF's introduction should give district councils time to put local plans in place, having due regard to the latest evidence of the impact of the economic downturn on the requirement for new homes and whether all the large ‘Sustainable Urban Extensions’ previously proposed for the Leicestershire Housing Market Area remain necessary;

 

iv)        that East Midlands Councils' response to the Government on the NPFF should be supported;" '

 

The amendment was put and carried, 33 members voting for the amendment and 5 against.

 

 

An amendment was moved by Mr Max Hunt and seconded by Ms Betty Newton:-

 

'1.        That paragraph (a) (i) be deleted from the motion, as amended, and the following inserted in its place:-

 

"i)     That the National Planning Framework should require local development plans (including LDFs) to prioritise development of previously developed land (brown field sites), more power for local authorities and communities to bring empty homes back into use and the right of communities of appeal against planning decisions should be asserted in legislation."

 

2.         That the following paragraph (a) (v) be added to the motion as amended:-

 

"v)     that links of Councillors and Members of Parliament with Developers should be declared;" '

 

The amendment was not carried, 14 members voting for the amendment and 32 against.

 

The substantive motion was put and carried as follows:-

 

"(a)      That this Council believes:-

 

i)          that the current draft National Planning Policy Framework is a welcome simplification of national planning guidance and provides a good basis for a genuine plan-led approach to future development;

 

ii)         that an effective plan-led approach will require district councils to put plans in place as soon as possible, engage closely with local communities and take full account of community views in developing their plans, including the need to protect valued green spaces, and work together on future development needs and the use of available funding across the wider Housing Market Area;

 

iii)        that the NPPF's introduction should give district councils time to put local plans in place, having due regard to the latest evidence of the impact of the economic downturn on the requirement for new homes and whether all the large ‘Sustainable Urban Extensions’ previously proposed for the Leicestershire Housing Market Area remain necessary;

 

iv)        that East Midlands Councils' response to the Government on the NPFF should be supported;

 

b)         That,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 124a