Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Tim Inglefield, Paul Maxwell, Garry Shortland and Martin Wale.

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday, 21^st January 2016.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on the 21^st January 2016, copies of which had been previously circulated, were approved as a correct record of the meeting and signed by the Chairman.

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (adopted July 2012), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests, Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting. A DPI is defined in The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012 No. 1464) and Appendix 3 of the Council’s Code of Conduct. A personal interest is defined in paragraph 2.8 of the Code and a prejudicial interest is defined in paragraph 2.9.

Members are reminded that they need to declare the fact that they are also a member of a County, Town or Parish Council as a Personal Interest.  As a result of the change made to the Code of Conduct by this Council at its meeting on 15th May 2014, where you are also a member of Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council within South Somerset you must declare a prejudicial interest in any business on the agenda where there is a financial benefit or gain or advantage to Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council which would be at the cost or to the financial disadvantage of South Somerset District Council.  If you have a prejudicial interest you must comply with paragraphs 2.9(b) and 2.9(c) of the Code.

Councillor Anna Groskop declared a personal interest in all the agenda items as a member of Somerset County Council.

Mr J Lewes, a volunteer at the Home Energy Centres in Ilminster and Chard, noted that information on the SSDC website indicated that the Council would be improving 300 homes in South Somerset with energy efficiency measures and he asked if this included homes in the private sector or would it be a smaller number?

Councillor Henry Hobhouse responded that SSDC worked with the Home Energy Team at the Centre of Sustainable Energy (CSE) in Bristol to provide advice and grants to householders to improve the energy efficiency of their homes in Somerset.  He said that he would clarify the figure of 300 homes assisted as listed on the SSDC website.

Mr B Budzynski spoke regarding the current roadworks at the hospital roundabout in Yeovil.  He noted that it had taken 35 minutes to travel a normal 5 minute journey that day due to the traffic queues and he asked if anything could be done to speed up the completion of the works by evening and weekend working?

Councillor Ric Pallister said he had met with the Highway Portfolio Holder at Somerset County Council before the works had begun and they were aware of the situation, however, he acknowledged that the traffic queues may be worse than they anticipated.  He said that he would speak to the Highway Portfolio Holder regarding this and asked his fellow Councillors who were also members of the County Council to bring this matter to their attention.

The Chairman advised that the meeting would be audio recorded by Radio Ninesprings and would be available to listen to on their website at the conclusion of the meeting.

The Chairman also welcomed Councillor Mike Lewis as the new Leader of the Conservative Group.

(Voting: 55 in favour, 0 against, 1 abstention)

The Leader of Council introduced the report and drew Members attention to the Devolution workshop held earlier that week which had explained the background and process and the difficulties of obtaining all partners agreement at each stage of the devolution process.  He noted that not all Members may be in favour of an elected Mayor for the area but that would be a future decision.  He confirmed that the report and recommendations did not commit the council to any more than remaining in the discussions with the partner organisations and Government ministers. 

In response to a question, the Leader of Council confirmed that at the beginning of the process, the Government had stated that the devolved powers and budgets would be made on existing LEP boundaries, however, more recently they had stated that they would consider bids made on economic or travel to work geographical areas.  The partners had looked at extending the boundary to include Bath & North East Somerset (BANES) Council and it was possible that local MP’s could favour a bid with Bristol as the process moved forward.

Both the Leader of the Conservative Group and the spokesperson for the Independent Members confirmed their support for SSDC to continue to be a part of the Heart of the South West Devolution bid and at the conclusion of the debate, the majority of Members were content to agree the recommendations of the report. 

(Voting: 55 in favour, 0 against, 1 abstention)

(Voting: 48 in favour, 0 against, 8 abstentions)

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services advised that the Government’s Revenue Support Grant had drastically reduced and was set to be removed completely by 2020.  The overall budget had reduced by 28% in real time cash savings compared to the 2008/09 budget, and he drew Members attention to the proposed 1.95% increase in Council Tax and the 1.25% for the Somerset Rivers Authority. He also noted the adverse effects posed by successful Business Rate appeals for which the Council had an NNDR volatility reserve.

In response to questions, the Assistant Director (Finance and Corporate Services) and Leader of Council advised that:

·         the proposed one-off spending of £269,000 in the Housing budget would be used to resolve issues relating to the P4A project as Somerset County Council reduced its funding. 

·         The allocation of funding for Home Farm, Somerton was for the future purchase and disposal of the property.

·         The Somerset Rivers Authority was a partnership and SSDC would try to negotiate for additional drainage works to areas upstream of the Inland Drainage Boards and Environment Agency areas, particularly areas of the Yeo, Cam, Isle and Brue rivers.

It was also noted that a report was due to be presented to the Executive on the use of an automatic number place recognition system in SSDC owned car parks to control enforcement.  At the conclusion of the debate, the majority of Members were content to confirm the proposed Revenue Budget for 2016/17, the Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Programme as presented.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services proposed the recommendations and they were seconded by Councillor Henry Hobhouse.

There was no debate and Members unanimously confirmed the Council Tax setting for 2016/17.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

(Voting: 51 in favour, 0 against, 3 abstentions)

The Leader of Council welcomed the Corporate Director and Group Manager, Finance, from Sedgemoor District Council who had attended the Joint Leaders Advisory Group meetings of officers and councillors from both Authorities.  He explained the reasons why the recommendation was not to create a joint authority at the current time and the proposal to move forward with the strategic alliance and share knowledge.  He thanked the Scrutiny Task and Finish group members who had been very helpful in scrutinising the process. 

Councillor Mike Beech, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group, who had attended some of the joint meetings expressed his support to retain the Joint Leaders Advisory Group, which he felt had more work to do.

Councillor Dave Bulmer, spokesperson for the Independent Members, said the Joint Leaders Advisory Group meetings had all been very positive and there was a need to continue them to look in more detail at the proposals agreed so far.

There was no debate and the majority of Members were content to confirm the recommendations of the report.

(Voting: 51 in favour, 0 against, 3 abstentions)

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

Councillor Derek Yeomans, as Chairman of the Audit Committee, stated that they had scrutinised the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy and he invited any questions upon it.

There was no debate and Members unanimously confirmed the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy for 2016/17.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

The Assistant Director (Legal and Corporate Services) advised the recommendations of the Standards Committee were to introduce more flexibility to the current complaints process to reach local solutions to issues and reinforce the point that SSDC did not have control of the procedures of Town and Parish Councils.  Proposals made at the Standards Committee meeting had been incorporated into the final document before Members.  

Councillor Mike Lewis said that the Assistant Director (Legal and Corporate Services) in his role as Monitoring Officer, together with the two independent representatives of the Standards Committee, should be supported in their work to provide advice and assist Parish Councils to come to local amicable solutions to issues within their parishes.

The Assistant Director (Legal and Corporate Services) thanked Councillor Lewis for his support and confirmed that he would continue to offer advice to Town and Parish Councils within the district.

There being no other debate, Members confirmed that the revised arrangements for dealing with complaints under the Code of Conduct for Councillors be formally adopted by Council.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services stated that all Councils were obliged to publicise their chief officer’s salaries and any other benefits received each year as a requirement of the Localism Act 2011. He noted that the statement confirmed that SSDC did not currently employ a Chief Executive Officer.

In response to a question, the Leader of Council confirmed that he would be presenting a report to Council in March on the future role of Chief Executive within the authority.

There was no further debate and Members were pleased to approve the proposed Statutory Pay Policy Statement for the year 2016-17 for publication.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

It was noted that due to the announcement of the EU Referendum date, the following meetings in June would be rescheduled:-

·         Licensing Committee moved from 14^th to 7^th June

·         Area North Committee moved from 22^nd to 29^th June

·         Audit Committee moved from 23^rd to 30^th June

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

It was noted that due to the announcement of the EU Referendum date, the following meetings in June would be rescheduled:-

·         Licensing Committee moved from 14^th to 7^th June

·         Area North Committee moved from 22^nd to 29^th June

·         Audit Committee moved from 23^rd to 30^th June

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

The report of Executive Decisions was noted.

Councillor Derek Yeomans, Chairman of the Audit Committee, advised that the Committee had recently received a presentation on the Council’s Risk Register and were now fully conversant with it.

The report of the Audit Committee was noted.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said that a Task and Finish group had looked at the shared accommodation arrangements within Brympton Way and had made some proposals relating to relocating the Members Room to the ground floor and noted the difficulties in parking on certain busy days.  She thanked both the Scrutiny Managers for their support to the Committee and its Task and Finish group work.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse, as Portfolio Holder for Property and Climate Change, advised that a small room on the ground floor had been identified as a new Members Room and an arrangement with Wickes DIY store nearby should help with parking in future.

The report of the Scrutiny Committee was noted.

Motion 1

(Voting: 22 in favour, 21 against, 11 abstentions)

Motion 2

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

Motion 1

The following Motion was submitted by Councillor Tony Capozzoli:-

That Council consider the reintroduction of prayers before meetings of Full Council.   Members may wish to consider inviting a local faith leader, or, invite a Councillor to lead a short prayer prior to the start of a Council meeting. 

Councillor Tony Capozzoli advised that in the past, an SSDC Councillor who had also been a Lay-Preacher, had always said a few words of encouragement prior to Council meetings.  He said the words did not have to be of a religious nature but could be a thought for the day. 

During discussion, varying views were expressed.  Some Members were in favour of introducing prayers whilst other did not feel comfortable with a religious content.  The Leader of Council proposed that the Motion be amended to agree to the introduction of words of encouragement (non-religious) before meetings of Full Council.  Councillor Capozzoli accepted this amendment and on being put to the vote, the majority of Members were in favour of the introduction of words of encouragement of a non-religious nature, before meetings of Full Council.

(Voting: 22 in favour, 21 against, 11 abstentions)

Motion 2

The following Motion was submitted by Councillor Amanda Broom:-

For SSDC to establish, understand and report to the residents of Chard, the future plan for sporting facilities and sporting development within the town. To set out the strategy of delivering this plan by identifying gap analyses of the current, and future states, including the ownership/accountability of key stakeholders.

Thus being in line, and reflecting the commitments made in the SSDC Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2013 - 2018 (Page 19, Paragraph 2).

Councillor Amanda Broom advised that the people of Chard felt there was a lack of support for sport in Chard.  She mentioned several hockey, football, rugby, cricket, tennis, boxing and running clubs who either had to play on pitches outside the town or had outgrown their current facilities and were struggling to find new pitches or had disbanded because of a lack of pitches available. 

Councillor Sylvia Seal, as Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, supported the motion and referred to the Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation assessments which were on-going across the district.  She offered to meet with Councillor Broom to discuss the dissemination of information to residents within the town and noted that the Community Health and Leisure Team would be happy to assist with any advice on fundraising etc.

The Leader of Council said work had started to secure land for playing pitches for Chard, but, unfortunately, the negotiations had stalled when the landowner passed away.  He confirmed that he had two other options for sites which he was progressing.

Councillor Amanda Broom thanked the Portfolio Holder and Leader of Council for their support.  She confirmed that she was working towards getting all the clubs together to move forward.

At the conclusion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

There were no questions submitted under Procedure Rule 10.

There were no questions submitted under Procedure Rule 10.

Members noted that the next scheduled meeting of the Full Council would take place on Thursday, 17^th March 2016 in the Council Chamber, Brympton Way, Yeovil commencing at 7.30 p.m.