Agenda and draft minutes

The meeting of the Council will be called to order to receive Her Worship The Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

The meeting of the Council was called to order to receive Her Worship The Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

To receive apologies for absence from Members to determine the quorum of the meeting in accordance with Rule 7 of Part 4 of the Constitution.

An apology for absence was received from Councillors G G Hunt and I K Ridley.

Councillors P Joshi and R V Joshi attended the meeting remotely, but in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, were not considered present for the purposes of voting.

Members are reminded that any declaration of interest should be made having regard to the Members’ Code of Conduct. In particular, Members must make clear the nature of the interest and whether it is 'pecuniary' or ‘non-pecuniary'.

The following Members declared a pecuniary interest with regard to item 6a of the agenda, insofar as they, their partners and/or other members of their household are currently or were previously in receipt of Winter Fuel Payments.

R H Adams

S S Athwal

G A Boulter

L M Broadley

F S Broadley

M H Charlesworth

J K Chohan

M L Darr

F S Ghattoraya

C S Gore

J Kaufman

K J Loydall

C J R Martin

C A M Walter

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Localism Act 2011, the Monitoring Officer granted an exemption to those named above in order to allow them to participate in the debate and vote thereon.

To read, confirm and approve the minutes of the previous meeting in accordance with Rule 19 of Part 4 of the Constitution.

By affirmation of the meeting, it was

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 16 July 2024 be taken as read, confirmed and approved.

To read, confirm and note the Action List arising from the previous meeting.

There was no Action List arising from the previous meeting.

To consider any Motions on Notice in accordance with Rule 14 of Part 4 of the Constitution.

Proposed by Councillor Samia Z Haq

The Council gave consideration to the Motion on Notice (as set out at page 8 of the agenda reports pack) regarding the UK Government’s decision to require means-testing to qualify for Winter Fuel Payments.

It was moved by the Leader of the Council, seconded by Councillor G A Boulter and

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT:

(i)       The Chief Executive be instructed to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for the policy on linking Winter Fuel Payments to Pension Credit receipt to be immediately paused and introduce a new threshold to determine eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments; and

(ii)      A significant awareness campaign to maximise uptake of pension credits be urgently commenced.

Postscript

A copy of the letter sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer is attached to this minute.

To receive any Petitions, Deputations and, or, to answer any Questions by Members or the Public in accordance with Rule(s) 11, 12, 13 and 10 of Part 4 of the Constitution and the Petitions Procedure Rules respectively.

None.

To receive any announcements from the Mayor in accordance with Rule 2 of Part 4 of the Constitution.

The Mayor thanked Members for attending her Charity Night on 9 September 2024, noting it raised over £800.00 for her chosen charities, and reminded Members the next Mayoral Charity Night will be on 3 February 2025.

By affirmation of the meeting, it was

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT:

The list of Official Engagements attended by The Mayor and/or Deputy Mayor be noted.

To receive any statement from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Article 2.9.2(ii) of Part 2 of the Constitution.

The Leader of the Council presented a statement outlining her recent work and meetings she has attended, the administration’s plans and an overview of recent decisions taken since the previous meeting of the Council, together with fielding questions in relation to her statement.

The Leader spoke about her fading hope in the new UK Government due to further cuts in services, the change in winter fuel allowance eligibility and retaining the 2-child benefit cap, as well as the need to continue with the Council’s Sustainability Plan to achieve a balanced budget and avoid issuing a Section 114 notice.

The Leader also spoke about the need to ensure the transition to fortnightly refuse collections be as smooth as possible for residents and assured residents that the privately-owned green spaces that were up for sale by developers would remain as public open spaces in being designated as such in planning terms.

Report of the Head of Law & Democracy / Monitoring Officer

The Council gave consideration to the report and appendix (as set out at pages 11 – 29 of the agenda reports pack), which provided Members with the opportunity to comment on and approve for submission a report to the Local Government Boundary

Commission of England (LGBCE) setting out what number of Councillors the Council itself considered appropriate as part of the ongoing LGBCE review.

Councillor M H Charlesworth proposed an amendment to the report (a copy of which is attached to this minute) recommending a reduction in Councillor numbers to achieve parity with other Councils in terms of number of electors per Councillor. The amendment was not seconded and therefore it was not voted upon.

Councillor F S Ghattoraya left the Civic Suite at 7:39 pm and re-entered at 7:46 pm.

Councillor M L Darr left the Civic Suite at 7.55 pm and did not return.

It was moved by Councillor G A Boulter, seconded by Councillor C S Gore and

RESOLVED THAT:

Members approved the report for submission, subject to final amendments made following consultation with the Leader of the Council, the Deputy Leader of the Council, the Leader of the Opposition, the Head of Paid Service / Chief Executive and the Head of Law & Democracy / Monitoring Officer.

For                              19

Against                      1

Abstentions             0