Agenda and minutes

A webcast of the meeting can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP8p_VHtOdQ

Armistice Day

Armistice Day was marked on Monday 11^th November when many public spaces and work places came to a halt to mark the traditional two-minute silence held at 11.00 o’clock.  At County Hall a short service was held at the Stand Easy memorial where one hundred invited guests were joined by many staff.

The service was dignified and involved the local Armed Forces and veteran community as well as pupils from The Hall Primary School who once again produced an excellent Remembrance display in Main Reception.  To see the generations coming together for this act of homage was a particular highlight.

The Chairman congratulated Susan Williamson from the Council’s Corporate Resources Department who played the Last Post and Reveille so competently.  Members joined the Chairman in recording their thanks and appreciation to all those involved.

The staff in Corporate Resources once again organised a very successful Poppy Appeal across County Hall with events and competitions to supplement the funds raised from the sale of poppies.  The final figure was yet to be confirmed but would exceed £5,000.  Members joined the Chairman in recording their thanks and appreciation to all the staff concerned.

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre had won the Great Day Out Best Small Attraction category at the Leicestershire Promotions Tourism and Hospitality Awards 2019.

Announcing Bosworth as the winner at the prestigious ceremony at Athena in Leicester, judges described the attraction as ‘simply a cracking day out that kept two slightly reluctant young people engrossed and wanting to go back again’.

This was a well-deserved tribute to the hard work of the staff and volunteers involved in making the site a must-visit attraction for people of all ages.

Pre-election Period

Members were reminded that they were in the pre-election period, which was a time of heightened sensitivity.  Members were asked, in making speeches, not to seek to elicit support for a particular political party and to focus on their role as County Councillors.

It was moved by the Chairman, seconded by the Mr O’Shea and carried:-

“That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 252

 September 2019, 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.

Mr Sheahan declared a personal interest in the Annual Performance Report and Delivery Compendium 2019 as it made reference to HS2 and he was affected by the proposed route (minute 34(b) refers).

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

“The Leader will no doubt be aware of the recent BBC investigation into the use of unregulated accommodation by local authorities to house children aged 16 – 18.  This looked at how houses being used to accommodate young people in the care of the local authority do not need to be registered with OFSTED if they only provide support and not care.  

The investigation raised concerns about the lack of qualified staff employed by private providers and concluded that many of the providers are operating de facto children’s homes and should be registered.

Reference was also made to a letter having been sent by the relevant Minister to Chief Executives on the subject of the use of unregulated accommodation.

Could the Leader let me know:

(a)     How many young people in the care of Leicestershire County Council have been placed in this type of accommodation in each of the last 3 years?

(b)     Are any young people in the care of Leicestershire currently placed in unregulated accommodation?

(c)     What action was the letter from the Minister asking the Council to take on this matter and has a response been sent?

(d)     How are referrals to providers undertaken and what checks are carried out?  Specifically, are the properties inspected and would the Council require staff working in these homes to be DBS checked?

(e)     Is the Leader satisfied that the process requiring other local authorities to inform the Council when placing a young person in unregistered accommodation in this Authority’s area, working as it should do?

(f)      Once notified what duties and responsibilities does this Council have in respect of young people placed in accommodation in Leicestershire by other local authorities?”

Mr Ould relied as follows:

(a)     The number of individuals that have been placed within unregulated 16/18 accommodation broken down by placements made per year is:

2017 – 44 young people
2018 – 46 young people
2019 – 51 young people

(b)     The County Council currently has 84 young people in unregulated accommodation.  This accommodation is a mix of supported accommodation, semi-independent living and supported lodgings.

(c)     The letter from Nadhim Zahawi MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, in March 2019 requested that Local Authorities review their procedures when placing young people in unregulated provision to ensure that statutory requirements are being met and that young people are not put at risk.  This request was considered and it was acknowledged that good robust procedures for making placements and quality assurance of placements were already in place in Leicestershire.  An update on this will be presented to members in the New Year.

(d)     Referrals to providers are anonymised and highlight the needs and behaviours of the young person, their gender and any geographical areas they wish to be in and equally any geographical areas they cannot be placed in.  Once a response is received this is sent to the Social Worker to make an informed decision as to whether it is a good placement match.  Where possible the young person would get to view the property before moving in.

Providers go through a robust quality process to become a Framework Provider which includes health and safety checks and evidence of all relevant policies and procedures.  All Framework providers are also visited, and a full Quality Assurance visit is undertaken before a placement is made.  All staff are required to have a full enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check and be checked against the barred list for working with children.

(e)     Notifications should be received  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

It was moved by Mr Rushton and seconded by Mr Shepherd:

“That the changes to Standing Orders (the Meeting Procedure Rules), as set out in Appendix A to the report of the Constitution Committee, be approved.”

The motion was carried, with 40 members voting for the motion and 11 voting against.

The Leader gave a position statement on the following matters:

·         Flooding;

·         Green Council/Carbon Reduction Strategy;

·         Housing Infrastructure Fund Bids;

·         Impower Index – Most Productive Council;

·         County Councils’ Network Conference;

·         Remembrance Sunday.

The Lead Member for Children and Family Services gave a position statement on the following matters:

·         Ofsted;

·         Department for Education Care Leavers Visit;

·         Stonewall;

·         Children’s Innovation Partnership.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Commission gave a position statement on the following matters:

·         Overview and Scrutiny Statutory Guidance;

·         Volume of Work;

·         Work of Scrutiny Review Panels.

A copy of the position statements is filed with these minutes.

It was moved by Mr Breckon, seconded by Mr Ould and carried unanimously:

“That the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health 2019 be noted with support.”

It was moved by Mr Rhodes, seconded by Mr Shepherd and carried unanimously:

“That the Annual Delivery Report and Performance Compendium 2019 be approved.”

It was moved by Mr Rhodes, seconded by Mr Shepherd and carried unanimously:

“That the County Council’s Pay Policy Statement 2020/21, attached as Appendix A to the report of the Employment Committee, be approved.”

It was moved by Mr Barkley and seconded by Mr Richardson:

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

The motion was carried, with 40 members voting for the motion and 11 voting against.

It was moved by Mr Barkley, seconded by Mr Richardson and carried unanimously:

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

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

“(a)    That those Members who submitted an Annual Report be thanked for doing so;

(b)      That those Members who have not submitted an Annual Report for the municipal year 2018/19 do so at the earliest opportunity;

(c)     That all Members of the County Council be asked to submit an Annual Report for the municipal year 2019/20 for publication on the County Council’s website;

(d)      That officers be asked to investigate what support can be provided to Members with regard to writing content relevant for their constituents;

(e)      That the allowance payable to Group Whips continues to be paid at the current rate of £61.40 per Member and increased annually in line with the Local Government Employee Pay Award).”