Agenda and minutes

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Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Preston

Contact: Dave Gorman  Tel: (01772) 534261, Email:  dave.gorman@lancashire.gov.uk

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Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies and Announcements

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were presented on behalf of County Councillors Joe Cooney and Barrie Yates.

 

Announcements

 

Death

 

The Chair reported the recent sad death of former County Councillor George Woods MBE, who passed away on 23 January 2018.

 

The Council stood in silent tribute.

 

Award of MBE

 

Afrasiab Anwar, Community Faith Co-ordinator in the School Improvement Service, was recently awarded an MBE by Her Majesty The Queen in the New Year's Honours List.

 

The award was in recognition of the pivotal role which Afrasiab had played in promoting inclusion and community relations across Lancashire and beyond through his work with schools, community and faith organisations, and partners.

 

Afrasiab, together with his line manager, Alison Lloyd, was present at Full Council and was congratulated by the Full Council on his award and his work.

 

 

2.

Disclosure of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests

Minutes:

Name of Councillor

Agenda Item Number

Nature of Interest (non-pecuniary unless stated)

Peter Steen

 

Notice of Motion 3 - Grant Maintained Nurseries

Wife is a Governor of Bacup Maintained Nursery

 

3.

Confirmation of the Minutes from the Meetings held on 14 December 2017 and 8 February 2018 pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Resolved: - That the minutes of the meetings of Full Council held on 14 December 2017 and 8 February 2018 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

4.

Finding of the Local Government Ombudsman - 7 November 2017 pdf icon PDF 94 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

County Councillor Graham Gooch, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, moved a report setting out details of actions that had already been taken in response to the Ombudsman's recommendations following an investigation into a complaint about adult social care services.

 

Resolved: - That:

 

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

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

5.

Members' Allowance Scheme 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 94 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved a report setting out the proposed Members' Allowance Scheme for 2018/19.

 

County Councillor David Whipp proposed the following amendment, seconded by County Councillor David Howarth:

 

The addition to the existing recommendation of "That the Leader's Special Responsibility Allowance be reduced by 10%, with pro-rata reductions to other Special Responsibility Allowances".

 

The amendment was put to the vote and was LOST.

 

County Councillor Paul Greenall proposed the following further amendment, seconded by County Councillor Paul Hayhurst:

 

In view of the recent 5.99% increase in Council Tax and the ongoing need for the County Council to make savings, the following modest reductions to the members allowance scheme will be made with effect from April 1st, 2018:

 

(i)  Councillors will not be entitled to claim travel expenses from home to County Hall as this should be treated as their normal place of work and covered by their basic allowance.

(ii)  Councillors will not be entitled to claim subsistence allowances when attending meetings at County Hall as this should be considered as covered by their basic allowance.

(iii)The special responsibility payments made to political group whips and secretaries will cease. 

(iv)In accordance with current and historical practice within Parliament, the percentage of Councillors who receive a special responsibility allowance will be set to a maximum of 22% of all elected members.

 

The amendment was put to the vote and was LOST. The substantive motion was then put to the vote and was CARRIED. It was therefore:

 

Resolved: - That:

 

The 2018/19 Members' Allowance Scheme, as presented at Appendix 'A' to the report now presented, be approved.

6.

The Localism Act 2011 - Pay Policy Statement 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved a report setting out details of the County Council's proposed 2018/19 Pay Policy Statement as required by the Localism Act 2011.

 

Resolved: - That:

 

(i)  The recommendations of the Employment Committee be noted and that the 2018/19 Pay Policy Statement, as set out at Appendix 'A' to the report now presented, be approved.

(ii)  The annual adjustment to the Living Wage for centrally employed staff for 2018/19, as set out in the report now presented, be approved.

7.

Amendments to the Constitution - Development Control Committee and Regulatory Committee pdf icon PDF 89 KB

Minutes:

County Councillor Paul Rigby moved a report setting out details of proposed changes to the County Council's Constitution in relation to the Development Control Committee and the Regulatory Committee.

 

County Councillor Steve Holgate proposed the following amendment, seconded by County Councillor Lizzi Collinge:

 

The addition of "and Scrutiny Committee Chairs and Deputy Chairs" at the end of item (ii) in the Executive Summary.

 

The amendment was put to the vote and was LOST. The substantive motion was then put to the vote and was CARRIED. It was therefore:

 

Resolved: - That:

 

(i)  The changes, as set out in the report now presented, to Standing Order 19(2) and to the Terms of Reference of the Development Control Committee, be approved.

(ii)  The Director of Corporate Services be authorised to make any other consequential changes to the Council's Constitution arising from this report.

 

 

8.

Financial Threshold for Key Decisions pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Minutes:

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved a report setting out details of the financial threshold above which decisions should be treated as Key Decisions as defined in Standing Order 25(1).

 

Resolved: - That the financial threshold for Key Decisions, for the purposes of Standing Order 25(1), as set out in the report now presented, should remain at £1.5m for 2018/19.

9.

Report of the Cabinet (Part B) pdf icon PDF 126 KB

Minutes:

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved the report of the Cabinet from its meetings on 18 January and 1 February 2018.

 

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

10a

The Urgency Committee pdf icon PDF 101 KB

Minutes:

County Councillor Geoff Driver moved the report of the Urgency Committee setting out details of decisions taken by the Council's Monitoring Officer and the Interim Chief Executive and Director of Resources 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.

10f

The Audit, Risk and Governance Committee pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

County Councillor Alan Schofield moved the report of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee from its meeting on 29 January 2018.

 

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

 

10c

The Overview and Scrutiny Committees pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

-  Children's Services Scrutiny Committee - 6 December 2017 and 31 January 2018

-  Education Scrutiny Committee - 28 November 2017

-  Health Scrutiny Committee - 12 December 2017 and 23 January 2018

-  Internal Scrutiny Committee - 19 January 2018

 

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

 

11.

Report of the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority pdf icon PDF 79 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

County Councillor Frank De Molfetta moved the report of the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority from its meeting on 18 December 2017.

 

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

12.

Notices of Motion submitted under Procedural Standing Order 14.2.1(a) (Part C)

Minutes:

 

1.  It was moved by County Councillor Gina Dowding and seconded by County Councillor Paul Hayhurst that:

 

According to recent research, eight million metric tons of plastic waste ends up in the world’s oceans each year [1], endangering marine life. There is also a growing understanding of the risks posed to human health by toxic chemicals present in plastics [2]. Less than a year after the introduction of the 5p bag charge, use of single-use plastic bags had already dropped by 85% [3], 300 million tons of plastic are produced around the globe each year. Public awareness of the problems of our throwaway culture is at an all-time high.

 

It is time for Lancashire to take a lead on this issue.

 

Council resolves to ask Cabinet to:

 

(i)  Develop a robust strategy to make Lancashire County Council a ‘single-use-plastic-free’ authority by the end of 2018 and encourage the county’s institutions, businesses and citizens to adopt similar measures;

(ii)  End the sale and provision of SUP products such as bottles, cups, cutlery and drinking straws in council buildings, events and services;

(iii)  Encourage schools and social care facilities to adopt measures, with the aim of phasing out single-use plastic, for example containers and cutlery in their premises by the end of 2018;

(iv)  Ensure that the County Council, via its procurement of goods and suppliers, has integrated the aim to end SUPs by suppliers by 2018 wherever feasible and appropriate.

 

[1] http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768
[2]
http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1526/2153.short#sec-5
[3]
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/30/england-plastic-bag-

 

The following amendment was proposed by County Councillor Graham Gooch and seconded by County Councillor Philippa Williamson:

 

According to recent research, eight million metric tons of plastic waste ends up in the world’s oceans each year, endangering marine life. There is also a growing understanding of the risks posed to human health by toxic chemicals present in plastics.

Less than a year after the introduction of the 5p bag charge, use of single-use plastic (SUP) bags had already dropped by 85%, 300 million tons of plastic are produced around the globe each year. Public awareness of the problems of our throwaway culture is at an all-time high.

 

It is time for Lancashire to take a lead on this issue.

 

Council resolves to ask Cabinet to work towards:

 

(i)  Developing a robust strategy to make Lancashire County Council a ‘single-use-plastic-free’ authority and encourage the county’s institutions, businesses and citizens to adopt similar measures;

(ii)  Ending the sale and provision of SUP products such as bottles, cups, cutlery and drinking straws in council buildings, events and services;

(iii)  Encouraging schools and social care facilities to adopt measures, with the aim of phasing out single-use plastic, for example containers and cutlery in their premises;

(iv)  Ensuring that the County Council, via its procurement of goods and suppliers, has integrated the aim to end the use of SUP products by suppliers wherever feasible and appropriate;

(v)  Exploring measures to encourage District and Borough Councils and other statutory partners of Lancashire County Council within Lancashire to adopt a rigorous enforcement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.