Venue: Microsoft Teams
Contact: Mo Seedat - Tel: 0116 305 2583 Email: mo.seedat@leics.gov.uk
Note: Please note: This meeting will not be open to the public in ine with Government advice on public gatherings. The meeting will be webcast live via YouTube.
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Webcast and Order Paper. PDF 319 KB A webcast of the meeting can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWFpwBLs6MnUzG0WjejrQtQ |
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Appointment of Chairman. Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Rushton, seconded by Mr Galton and carried:- “That Mrs Posnett
be re-elected Chairman for the period until the next Annual Meeting of the
Council.” Mrs Posnett read
out and signed her Declaration of Acceptance of Office which was witnessed and
signed by the Chief Executive. |
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Chairman's Announcements. Minutes: Mr G. Gibson, Mr A. O’Brien and Mr D. B.
Radford It was with sadness
that the Chairman reported the deaths of three former County Councillors, Mr G.
Gibson, Mr A. O’Brien and Mr D. B. Radford. Mr Geoffrey Gibson served as a member of the County Council from
1973 to 1985 and represented the Barrow upon Soar Electoral Division. He served as Leader of the Council from 1973
to 1980 and during his term of office served mainly on the Policy and Resources
and Finance and General Purposes Committees of the Council. Mr Gibson passed
away on 28th February 2020. Mr Tony O’Brien served as a member of the County Council
from 1985 to 1997 representing the Evington Electoral Division. He served mainly on the Social Services and
the Urban Policies Committees of the Council.
Mr O’Brien passed away on 3rd April 2020. Mr David Radford served as a member of the County Council
from 1973 to 1977 and again from 1981 to 1997 and represented the Eyres Monsell
Division. He was elected Chairman of the
Council from 1986 to 1987 and during his term of office he served mainly on the
Environment and Policy and Resources Committees. Mr Radford passed away on 20th
June 2020. Mr S. Jones and Mr M. Wells It was with sadness
that the Chairman reported the deaths of two former senior officers, Mr S.
Jones and Mr M. Wells. Sam Jones was appointed Chief Executive of Leicestershire County Council in 1976
and served in this role, and as Clerk of the Lieutenancy, until 1991. His early career in local government began as
an Assistant Solicitor in 1964 for Macclesfield Borough Council. He then
joined Bedford Borough Council, Coventry City Council, and Sheffield City Council,
before coming to Leicestershire. His
final appointment was as Clerk of the City of London Corporation until his
retirement in 1996. He was appointed a
Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire in 1992.
Sam passed away on 6th March 2020. Mick Wells served as the County Director of Social Services until his retirement
in 1998. Mick Wells joined the Leicester
City Welfare Department in 1958 and held several posts before being appointed
as Assistant Director in 1973 then promoted to be Deputy Director a post he
held until 1986 when he was appointed as Director and remained in post until
retirement. Mick passed away on 24th
February 2020. The Chairman
invited the Council to stand in silent tribute to the memory of Geoffrey
Gibson, Tony O’Brien, David Radford, Sam Jones and Mick Wells and also for all
Leicestershire residents who sadly lost their lives during the pandemic. Remembering
Srebrenica 2020 marked 25
years since the genocide in Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina where 8,372
Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered in the worst atrocity on European
soil since the Second World War. The Chairman
invited all Members to join her in observing a one-minute silence as the
Council remembered those murdered in Srebrenica on 11th July 1995,
the survivors of the Death March, the men who survived the mass executions, to
honour their courage in telling their stories, the Mothers of Srebrenica, who
grieve every day for their missing and murdered relatives and who fight
tirelessly for truth and justice, and the women and girls caught up in this
atrocity along with the elderly, the sick and the children murdered during the
fall of Srebrenica. The Chairman asked
all members to stand in silent remembrance of the lives lost and destroyed by
hatred, prejudice and genocide denial. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: It was moved by the
Chairman, seconded by Mr Kaufman and carried: “That the minutes
of the meeting of the Council held on 17 February 2020, copies of which have
been circulated to members, be taken as read, confirmed and signed.” |
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Declarations of Interest. Minutes: The Chairman
invited members who wished to do so to make declarations of interest in respect
of items on the agenda for this meeting. All members who
were members of District and Borough Councils declared a personal interest in the
report of the Cabinet on Coronavirus – Item 7A on the agenda – (minute 7A refers). Mrs Posnett, Mr
Pearson and Mr Orson declared a personal interest in relation to the Melton
Mowbray Distributor Road referred to in the Leaders Position Statement (minute 6
refers). Ms Hack declared a
personal interest in the question she had asked regarding school transport
refunds (minute 5 refers). Mr Miah declared a
personal interest in the report of the Cabinet on Coronavirus – Item 7A on the
agenda - as a member of a local charity working to support people affected
(minute 7A refers). Dr Eynon, Mrs
Radford, Dr Hill, Mr O’Shea and Dr Feltham declared a personal interest in the
report of the Cabinet on Coronavirus – Item 7A on the agenda as volunteers or
management committee members on voluntary and community bodies that had applied
for and were successful in obtaining a community grant from the County Council
(minute 7A refers). |
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Questions asked under Standing Order 7(1)(2) and (5). Minutes: (A) Dr Eynon asked the
following question of the Leader or his nominee: “On 29th
January 2020 the Leicester Mercury reported a spokesperson for the Council as
saying: “We are looking into the possibility of working with the National
Forest Company to investigate the feasibility of expanding the National
Forest’s boundaries.” An aspiration to
plant more trees is mentioned in this Council’s Tree Strategy. The Environment Strategy refers to a need to
protect and enhance the National Forest, but boundary changes and expansion are
not mentioned.
Mr Pain replied
as follows: “Officers of the council continue to work closely with the National
Forest Company (NFC) to promote tree planting within existing boundaries and
there are a number of projects that are being planned. This planning is at an early stage and will
involve discussions with partners and stakeholders so
details are not available at this point in time. The most recent meeting
took place on Friday 26th June. The NFC current position is to maintain the integrity of its current
200 square mile boundary to continue to create the identity of the National
Forest, target resources for delivery, and focus effort to achieve its new 25
Year Vision. However, the NFC will also continue to operate outside of
the boundary in delivering shared objectives that will buffer, support and
strengthen the National Forest environment, economy and communities. In
addition, the NFC will share its expertise and learning with partners at a
local, national and international level to demonstrate and advocate climate
change mitigation and adaptation, with the National Forest as an exemplar of
sustainable living. A specific project
worth mentioning is the creation of a Covid-19 commemoration wood at Market Bosworth
Country Park. This is outside of the
National Forest boundaries but has been supported by the NFC as it is part of
the gateway to the forest. The County Council
recently launched its Tree Strategy and looks forward to the appointment of a
new Forestry Manager in August. More details around tree planting and
partnership working will emerge in due course.” (B) Dr Eynon asked the
following question of the Leader or his nominee: “During discussions
with Snibston Stakeholders and Community Group, some
months ago, a suggestion was put forward to create an access way between the
newly refurbished Snibston Heritage Park and
Coalville Town Football Club. This
proposal would encourage visitors to the town to park on County Council
premises and divert football traffic away from the congested residential town
centre streets. Could the Leader
tell me what progress has been made on implementing this suggestion?” Mr Rhodes replied as follows: “The matter that
was raised with Council officers was to create a pedestrian gateway that would
enable access from the car park onto the public pathway and into the Football
Club. Officers have managed to include this extra provision within the scope of
the Snibston development programme.” Dr Eynon asked the following supplementary
question: “I thank the Lead Member for this response and am pleased to see that
officers have managed to include the provision of a pedestrian gateway as part
of the Snibston development programme and that this
will allow access from the Snibston car park into the
Football Club. Please may I have a copy of a scale drawing of the proposed access to share with partner organisations and the ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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To receive position statements under Standing Order 8. PDF 296 KB Minutes: “The Leader gave a position statement on the following matters: • Coronavirus (COVID-19) • Lockdown of Leicester and surrounding areas • Economic Recovery • Devolution • Melton Mowbray Distributor Road • The retirement of Ivan Ould CC from his role as Cabinet Lead Member for Children and Families and Community Safety. A copy of the
position statement is filed with these minutes. |
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Reports of the Cabinet. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Rhodes, seconded by Mr Breckon, and carried: “a) That
the work being undertaken address the on-going impact of and to recover from
the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic be noted b) That
the increasingly serious financial position facing the County Council and the
measures in place to monitor and minimise the impact be noted.” |
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Revised Strategic Plan 2020-2023. PDF 357 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Pain, seconded by Mr Rushton and carried: “That the revised
Strategic Plan 2018 -2022 be approved, recognising that the Plan will need to
be revisited as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.” |
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Revised Environment Strategy and Action Plan. PDF 204 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Pain, seconded by Mr Pendleton and carried: “a) That
the revised Environment Strategy 2018-2030, the associated revised Environment
Strategy Action Plan and Tranche 1 of the Carbon Reduction Roadmap, be
approved; b) That
it be noted that a further report presenting the complete Carbon Reduction
Roadmap (incorporating the newly developed Tranche 2) will be submitted to the
County Council in the summer of 2021.” |
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Equalities Strategy 2020-2024 and Equality Action Plan 2020-2021. PDF 154 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: It was moved by Mrs Richardson, seconded by
Mr Rushton and carried: “That the Equality
Strategy 2020 -2024 and Equality Action Plan 2020- 2021 be approved.” |
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Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2020-2023. PDF 204 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Ould, seconded by Mrs Taylor and carried: “That the Youth
Justice Strategic Plan 2020 – 2023 be approved.” |
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Dates of Council Meetings 2020/21 and 2021/22. PDF 210 KB Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Rushton, seconded by Mr Shepherd and carried: “That Council
meetings in 2020/21 and 2021/22 be held on the following dates:- • Wednesday 30 September 2020 • Wednesday 2 December
2020 • Wednesday 17 February
2021 (to consider the budget) • Wednesday 19 May 2021
(Annual Meeting) • Wednesday 7 July 2021 • Wednesday 29 September
2021 • Wednesday 1 December
2021 • Wednesday 23 February
2022 (to consider the budget) • Wednesday 18 May 2022
(Annual meeting)” |
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Report of the Scrutiny Commission. |
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Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2019/20 PDF 268 KB Additional documents: Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Galton, seconded by Mrs Page and carried: “That the
information contained in the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2019/20,
attached as Appendix A to this report, on its activities, be noted.” |
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To make appointments in accordance with items 11 and 12 of Standing Order 4. PDF 99 KB Additional documents: |
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To appoint the Leader; Minutes: It was moved by Mr
Pain, seconded by Mr Shepherd and carried: “That MR N. J.
RUSHTON be appointed Leader of the Council for the period until the next Annual
Meeting of the Council.” (The Labour Group
requested that it be noted that they abstained from voting). |
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To note any changes to the membership of the Cabinet made by the Leader; Minutes: It was moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr
Shepherd and carried: “That it be noted
that the Leader proposes to appoint the members named on list ‘1’ attached to
the Order Paper as members of the Cabinet.” (The Labour Group
requested that it be noted that they abstained from voting). |
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To appoint Cabinet Support Members as the Council considers appropriate; Minutes: It as moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr Shepherd and carried
on a majority vote: “That the following
members be appointed as Cabinet Support Members until the next Annual Meeting
of the County Council, as provided for in Article 7 of the Council’s
Constitution: - Mr O. O’Shea Mrs B. Seaton Mrs C. M. Radford” (The Liberal
Democrat Group and Labour Group voted against the motion to appoint Cabinet
Support Members). |
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To appoint members of the Scrutiny Commission, Boards and Committees (including the naming of Chairmen and Spokesmen/Spokespersons). Minutes: It was moved by Mr Shepherd, seconded by Mr
Charlesworth and carried: “That the
membership of the Scrutiny Commission, Boards and Committees as set out in List
‘2’ and the Chairmen Elect and Spokespersons named in List ‘3’ attached to the
Order Paper, be approved.” |