Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were presented on behalf of County Councillors Terry Burns and John Shedwick.

Announcements

Deaths

The Chairman reported the recent sad deaths of former County Councillor Anne Smith OBE, who passed away on 12 October 2018, and former County Councillor and Honorary Alderman Vincent Murphy, who passed away on 15 October 2018.

The Council stood in silent tribute.

Awards

The Communications Service had recently received a Bronze award in the Public Service Communications Excellence Awards 2018 for its adoption campaign.

Anne Woods, Saf Munshi, Anthony Sergeant and Julie Dobson from the Communications Service were present at Full Council and were congratulated on the award.

The Chairman also referred to a number of other recent successes as follows:

-  Of 431 care homes registered with the Care Quality Commission across Lancashire, 409 of these had been rated good or above with 80% rated outstanding, above the North West regional average of 77%. 

-  The announcement that Elswick had been named Lancashire's Best Kept Village 2018.

Full Council congratulated all of those involved in the above on their success.

No declarations of interest were made.

Questions submitted under Standing Order B28.

County Councillors Malcolm Barron, Nikki Hennessy and Gina Dowding asked their respective questions and the appropriate Cabinet Members responded.

In respect of Question 2, the Chairman advised Full Council that the question had been withdrawn.

Resolved: - That the minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 19 July 2018 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved a report setting out the recommendation of the Employment Committee in respect of the appointment of the Chief Executive and Director of Resources.

As the specified time period for consultation with Cabinet Members on the appointment had not lapsed at the time of agenda publication, the recommendation of the Employment Committee was reported at the meeting.

Resolved: - That the appointment of Angie Ridgwell as Chief Executive and Director of Resources, with immediate effect, be approved.

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved a report setting out details of a proposed policy position on the future provision of Halal meat.

In accordance with the requirements of procedural Standing Order B45(4), a recorded vote was taken. The names of the County Councillors who voted for or against the Motion and those who abstained are set out below:

Resolved: - That Lancashire County Council will:

(i)  Not provide meat (other than poultry) to LCC establishments unless the animals were stunned before they were slaughtered.

(ii)  Consult with the Lancashire Council of Mosques and others on how the County Council can implement this policy whilst continuing to provide meals which comply with the Muslim community's religious beliefs.

(iii)  Undertake further investigations with the Lancashire Council of Mosques into the stunning of poultry before slaughter.

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved a report setting out recommendations for the amendment of the Financial Regulations to allow delegation to officers to approve certain amendments to the Capital Programme which would remove the necessity for Cabinet to approve these changes in future. This would enable improved efficiency in the management and monitoring of the Capital Programme and would be overseen by the Capital Board.

Resolved: - That:

(i)  The changes to the Financial Regulations relating to Capital Expenditure as set out at Appendix 'A' to the report, now presented, be approved.

(ii)  That the Director of Corporate Services be authorised to make consequential amendments to the Constitution arising from these changes.

County Councillor Peter Buckley moved a report setting out details of a finding of fault causing injustice after an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The report set out the actions that had already been taken in response to the Ombudsman's recommendations.

Resolved: - That:

(i)  The recommendations set out in the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's report at Appendix 'A', to the report, now presented, be noted.

(ii)  The actions already taken be noted and the further steps proposed in response to the report's recommendation, as set out in the report, now presented, be endorsed.

County Councillor Albert Atkinson moved a report setting out details of a proposal to appoint a county council representative to the Rural Services Network.

Resolved: - That the appointment of County Councillor Cosima Towneley as the county council's representative on the Rural Services Network until the annual meeting of Full Council in May 2019, as set out in the report, now presented, be approved.

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved a report setting out details of a draft timetable of Full Council, Cabinet and Committee meetings for the period 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020.

Resolved: - That the timetable of Full Council, Cabinet and Committee meetings for the period 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020 inclusive as set out at Appendix 'A' to the report, now presented, be approved.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.  Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member’s intention to raise a matter under this heading.

There was no urgent business to be considered.

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved the report of the Cabinet from its meetings on 12 July 2018, 9 August 2018, and 13 September 2018.

Resolved: - That the report of the Cabinet, now presented, be noted.

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved the report of an urgent Key Decision taken since the last meeting of Full Council.

Resolved: - That the report of an urgent Key Decision taken since the last meeting of Full Council, now presented, be noted.

County Councillor Alan Schofield moved the report of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee from its meetings on 30 July 2018 and 28 August 2018.

Resolved: - That the report of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee, now presented, be noted.

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved the report of the Employment Committee from its meeting on 11 September 2018.

Resolved: - That the report of the Employment Committee, now presented, be noted.

County Councillor Eddie Pope moved the report of the Pension Fund Committee from its meetings on 5 July 2018 and 14 September 2018.

Resolved: - That the report of the Pension Fund Committee, now presented, be noted.

County Councillor David O'Toole moved the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees from their meetings as follows:

Children's Services Scrutiny Committee - 4 July 2018

Education Scrutiny Committee - 10 September 2018

Health Scrutiny Committee - 3 July 2018 and 25 September 2018

Internal Scrutiny Committee - 20 July 2018, 21 August 2018 and 21 September 2018

Resolved: - That the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, now presented, be noted.

County Councillor Shaun Turner moved the report of the Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board from its meeting on 18 September 2018.

Resolved: - That the report of the Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board, now presented, be noted.

County Councillor Frank De Molfetta moved the report of the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority from its meeting on 17 September 2018.

Resolved: - That the report of the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority, now presented, be noted.

1.  It was moved by County Councillor Nikki Hennessy and seconded by County Councillor Julie Gibson that:

This Council:

(i)  Will support and sign the Cooperative Party Charter Against Modern Slavery which sets out the following commitments:

·  Train its corporate procurement team to understand modern slavery through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) online course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.

·  Require its contractors to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, wherever it applies, with contract termination as a potential sanction for non-compliance.

·  Challenge any abnormally low-cost tenders to ensure they do not rely upon the potential contractor practising modern slavery.

·  Highlight to its suppliers that contracted workers are free to join a trade union and are not to be treated unfairly for belonging to one.

·  Publicise its whistle-blowing system for staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.

·  Require its tendered contractors to adopt a whistle-blowing policy which enables their staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.

·  Review its contractual spending regularly to identify any potential issues with modern slavery.

·  Highlight for its suppliers any risks identified concerning modern slavery and refer them to the relevant agencies to be addressed.

·  Refer for investigation via the National Crime Agency’s national referral mechanism any of its contractors identified as a cause for concern regarding modern slavery.

·  Report publicly on the implementation of this policy annually.

(ii)  Will promote awareness of Modern Day Slavery amongst our residents and work with officers to support survivors.

The following amendment was proposed by County Councillor Geoff Driver and seconded by County Albert Atkinson:

Lancashire County Council is part of a multi-agency Modern Slavery Group and is working with Lancashire Constabulary and other agencies to develop a strategic plan to combat modern slavery and to protect vulnerable people in Lancashire.

Council resolves:

(i)  To note that the County Council already:

•  Requires all contractors to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

•  Challenges any abnormally low cost tenders to ensure they do not rely upon the potential contractor practising modern slavery.

•  Regularly reviews contractual spending in order, amongst other things, to identify any potential issues with modern slavery.

•  Reminds its suppliers that contracted workers are free to join a trade union.

•  Ensures that officers in the corporate procurement team are trained to understand modern slavery through Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) online course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.

•  Publicises its whistle blowing policy/practice for staff to highlight any suspected cases of modern slavery.

(ii)  That the County Council will in future:

•  Require its tendered contractors to adopt a whistle blowing policy which enables their staff to highlight suspected cases of modern slavery.

•  Highlight for its suppliers any risks identified concerning modern slavery to the National Crime Agency’s referral mechanism.

•  Request Officers to report annually to Cabinet on the implementation of this policy.

(iii)  To work with the ‘Modern Slavery Group’ to ensure that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.