Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor Matthew Brown.

County Councillor John Potter joined the meeting virtually.

County Councillors Usman Arif, Tim Ashton, Samara Barnes, Peter Britcliffe,  Alf Clempson, Lizzi Collinge, M Dad BEM JP, M Goulthorp, K Iddon, Y Motala, J Parr, L Pate, J Purcell and Ash Sutcliffe were subject to pairing arrangements and were not present.

Announcements

Deaths

The Chairman reported the recent deaths of former County Councillor Tim Ormrod, who sadly passed away on Friday 22 October 2021, and former County Councillor Tom Sharratt, who sadly passed away on Sunday 7 November 2021.

The Council observed a one-minute silence.

Questions submitted under Standing Order B28.

It was noted that Question 1, submitted by County Councillor Tim Ashton, had been withdrawn.

County Councillors Scott Smith and Gina Dowding asked their respective questions as follows:

County Councillor Shaun Turner, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change; and County Councillor Charles Edwards, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, replied respectively.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 October 2021 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

County Councillor Phillippa Williamson moved a report asking Full Council to consider the recommendations of the Cabinet in respect of the Local Member Grant Scheme.

Resolved: - That:

(i)  The Local Member Grant Scheme, as set out at Appendix 'A' to the Cabinet report, now presented, be approved.

(ii)  Each member be allocated a full year budget of £2,000 for grant within their division, with a pro-rata amount of £500 for the period January to March 2022, as set out at Appendix 'A' to the Cabinet report, now presented.

(iii)  Appropriate officer support be put in place to ensure the effective administration of Local Member Grants, as set out at Appendix 'A' to the Cabinet report, now presented.

County Councillor Michael Green moved a report asking Full Council to consider the recommendations of Cabinet in respect of the Terms of Reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Resolved: - That the proposed changes to the membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board, as set out at Appendix 'A' to the Cabinet report, now presented, be approved.

County Councillor Alan Schofield moved a report asking Full Council to consider the recommendations of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee in relation to the appointment of external auditors.

Resolved: - That:

(i)  The recommendations of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee, as set out at Appendix 'A' to the report, now presented, be noted.

(ii)  Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited be recommissioned to act as the appointing person for the appointment of an external auditor for Lancashire County Council and Lancashire County Pension Fund for the five financial years commencing 1 April 2023, as set out at Appendix 'A' to the report, now presented.

County Councillor Eddie Pope moved a report asking Full Council to consider the recommendations of the Pension Fund Committee in relation to the appointment of a new employer representative on the Lancashire Local Pension Board.

Resolved: - That the appointment of Glyn Peach, Chief Digital Officer, Lancashire County Council, be appointed as the new Lancashire County Council employer representative on the Lancashire Local Pension Board to replace Tony Pounder, Director of Adult Services, with effect from 19 January 2022, as set out in 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 Phillippa Williamson moved the report of the Cabinet from its meetings on 7 October 2021, 4 November 2021, and 2 December 2021, together with details of urgent Key Decisions taken since the last meeting of Full Council.

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

County Councillor Phillippa Williamson moved the report of the Urgency Committee setting out details of a decision taken by the Director of Corporate Services (Monitoring Officer), under the county council's urgent business procedure on behalf of the Urgency Committee.

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

County Councillor Alan Schofield moved the report of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee from its meeting on 18 October 2021.

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

County Councillor Phillippa Williamson moved the report of the Employment Committee from its meeting on 8 November 2021.

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 meeting on 26 November 2021.

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:

Education and Children's Services Scrutiny Committee - 5 October 2021 and 9 November 2021

Health Scrutiny Committee - 16 November 2021

Internal Scrutiny Committee - 12 November 2021

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

1.  It was moved by County Councillor Noordad Aziz and seconded by County Councillor Mohammed Iqbal that:

Council notes the concerning rise in the recreational use of Nitrous Oxide across Lancashire. Every district has seen a massive rise in the discarded canisters used to contain this cheap and highly dangerous drug.

Council resolves to write to the Government asking for an urgent review into the regulation and licensing of this product.

The following friendly amendment was proposed by County Councillor Peter Buckley in accordance with Standing Order B42:

Council notes the concerning rise in the recreational use of Nitrous Oxide across Lancashire. Every district has seen a massive rise in the discarded canisters used to contain this cheap and highly dangerous drug.

Whilst Lancashire Trading Standards recently spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness of the harm of taking nitrous oxide ('laughing gas') and to offer supporting information to parents, the risks are all too clear and heavy regular use can have a long-term impact on health including possible anaemia and nerve damage.

Council welcomes the letter the Home Secretary sent on 3^rd September 2021 to the Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) requesting an updated assessment of the health and social harms of nitrous oxide and, following the assessment, advice on whether nitrous oxide should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Chief Executive to write to the Home Secretary for an update to the ACMD assessment and review into the regulation and licensing of this product.

The friendly amendment was accepted by County Councillor Aziz and became the substantive motion.

The substantive motion, as amended by County Councillor Buckley's friendly amendment, was then put to the vote and was CARRIED. It was therefore:

Resolved: - That:

Council notes the concerning rise in the recreational use of Nitrous Oxide across Lancashire. Every district has seen a massive rise in the discarded canisters used to contain this cheap and highly dangerous drug.

Whilst Lancashire Trading Standards recently spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness of the harm of taking nitrous oxide ('laughing gas') and to offer supporting information to parents, the risks are all too clear and heavy regular use can have a long-term impact on health including possible anaemia and nerve damage.

Council welcomes the letter the Home Secretary sent on 3^rd September 2021 to the Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) requesting an updated assessment of the health and social harms of nitrous oxide and, following the assessment, advice on whether nitrous oxide should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Chief Executive to write to the Home Secretary for an update to the ACMD assessment and review into the regulation and licensing of this product.

2.  It was moved by County Councillor Lorraine Beavers and seconded by County Councillor Jackie Oakes that:

The 'Our Streets Now' campaign demands the right of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.