Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Forrest and Honorary Aldermen Bush, Stott and Tormey.

The were no disclosures of pecuniary or personal interests.

To confirm the minutes of the Council meeting held on 9th November 2020.

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 9th November 2020 were confirmed and signed.

To receive announcements from the Mayor (if any).

The Mayor made the following announcements.

“I had the pleasure of being involved in the Charnwood Community Hero Awards. It was humbling to meet some of the people who have contributed so much to the wellbeing of communities within Charnwood. Many were recognised for their excellent support to people in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

In my view, what makes these awards so special, they are for the people, organisations and businesses who have been nominated by local people who have seen the difference their actions and contributions have made during the year. This was a time to have the opportunity to say thank you to everyone who had been nominated, especially this year when many people have depended on kindness and support. I know they have gone the extra mile to help others in so many ways. I believe this is the reason Charnwood is a great place to live. I thank everyone who has taken the time to help others during these last few difficult months.

May I also take the opportunity to thank all the Council officers involved, making these awards such a success, recognising the valuable contribution made by so many people, organisations and businesses throughout 2020.

I would also like to mention that due to the Pandemic, the Loughborough Council of Faiths have decided it would be irresponsible to suggest people attend Loughborough’s Queens Park to lay pebbles this year, so have decided to cancel the Holocaust Memorial Day event scheduled to take place on Wednesday 27th January 2021.  Please can Cllrs and Honorary Aldermen that normally attend please take this engagement out of your diaries”

To consider significant, recent matters affecting the Council or the Borough (if any).

The Leader made no announcements.

To receive announcements from the Chief Executive (if any).

The Chief Executive made no announcements.

To allow councillors to formally submit petitions for consideration under the Council’s petition scheme, as set out in Full Council Procedure 9.8.

No petitions were submitted.

To consider the following matters reserved to Council in accordance with Section 5 of the Constitution:

A report of the Cabinet to consider a submission for the first stage of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) electoral review.

A report of the Cabinet to consider a submission for the first stage of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) electoral review. (item 6.1 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

It was proposed by Councillor Morgan, seconded by Councillor Miah and

RESOLVED

1.    That Council approve the submission appended to the report (attached as an Annex) as the Council’s submission to the LGBCE regarding Council Size, which supports the continuation of the current number of 52 councillors.

2.    That Council give delegated authority to the Chief Executive and the Head of Strategic Support, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to make minor typographical amendments and corrections to the document prior to submission if required.

Reasons

1.    To agree a submission to the LGBCE as part of stage 1 of their review concerning council size.

2.    To allow for any minor errors to be corrected before the document is submitted.

A report of the Cabinet to seek approval for the adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement.

A report of the Cabinet to seek approval for the adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement (item 6.2 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

It was proposed by Councillor Bailey, seconded by Councillor Fryer and

RESOLVED that the Statement of Community Involvement in Appendix A of Part B to the report of the Head of Planning and Regeneration (attached as an Annex) be adopted.

Reason

To meet statutory timescales to update the Statement of Community Involvement every five years and ensure that the Council has modern and engaging approaches to plan-making consultations that are sufficiently flexible to enable plan-making to progress in the context of COVID-19 restrictions. Also, to set out the Council’s approach to supporting neighbourhood planning and consult on planning applications.

A report of the Personnel Committee, recommending hat the Pay Policy Statement for 2021/22 be approved and adopted. To follow.

A report of the Personnel Committee to consider a recommendation from the Personnel Committee that the Pay Policy Statement for 2021/22 be approved and adopted (item 6.3 of the supplementary agenda filed with these minutes).

It was proposed by Councillor Morgan, seconded by Councillor Boldrin and

RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement for 2021/22, as set out in Appendix A to the report considered by the Personnel Committee (attached as an appendix), be approved and adopted.

Reason To ensure that the Council meets its obligations under Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011.

There are no references to Council following the call-in of a Cabinet decision under Scrutiny Committee Procedure 11.7.

There were no call-in references from Scrutiny.

No requests for position statements were received.

No position statements had been requested.

No motions on notice have been received.

No motions on notice had been submitted.

To deal with the following questions on notice, submitted under Full Council Procedure 9.9(a):

The questions on notice and the responses of the Leader or his nominee were submitted (item 10 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

Question submitted by Councillor J Bradshaw.

Councillor Julie Bradshaw thanked the Lead Member for the response and asked whether the £13m received by Fusion Leisure from central government would be used towards repayments of the funds loaned by the Council?

Councillor Harper-Davies thanked Councillor Bradshaw for the question and stated that it was unclear how the £13m would be spent. She advised that officers would enquire about this and provide an answer to the question.

Question submitted by Councillor Draycott.

Councillor Draycott thanked the Lead Member for the response and stated that she did not think there had been a reduction in staff sickness during 2020. As many staff members were working from home, she believed that this would encourage them to continue to work, whereas they may previously have taken time off due to illness. She stated that staff sickness recording should be adapted to reflect new working cultures.

Councillor Smidowicz thanked Councillor Draycott for the question, stated that it was an interesting point and agreed to look into the matter. She also advised that there were protocols in place to increase the accuracy of sickness recording.

Question submitted by Councillor Draycott.

Councillor Draycott acknowledged that much of the open space enjoyed by members of the public would be used in order to fulfil the Council’s pledge to plant 100,000 trees. She requested that information be circulated to Councillors on proposed sites for the 100,000 trees, or that a report outlining this information to be submitted to the Loughborough Area Committee.

Councillor Bokor thanked Councillor Draycott the question and stated that there had been consultation with residents on the potential impact of trees being planted in their locality and that residents did not see an issue. She stated that information on proposed sites could be communicated to Councillors.

Question submitted by Councillor Parton.

Councillor Parton did not wish to ask a supplementary question.

Question submitted  by Councillor Parton.

Councillor Parton did not wish to ask a supplementary question.

Question submitted by Councillor Parton.

Councillor Parton did not wish to ask a supplementary question.

Question submitted by Councillor Miah.

Councillor Miah thanked the Lead Member for the response and asked whether there were any Consultants currently working with the Council on the revised Loughborough Town Deal Town Investment Plan?

Councillor Morgan thanked Councillor Miah for the question. He stated that the Loughborough Town Deal Board was leading on the revised Town Investment Plan, with the support of Council officers and that there was not a need for any external Consultants to be involved. He also stated that Loughborough was just one of many towns that were resubmitting their bid for funding.

There are no minute references.

There were no minute references.

A report of the Chief Executive to note urgent decisions which were exempted from call-in in accordance with Scrutiny Committee Procedure 11.9.

This report contains two exempt annexes (Annex E and Annex F), circulated to Councillors.

A report of the Chief Executive, informing the Council of an urgent decision made by the Cabinet that was exempted from call-in in accordance with Scrutiny Committee Procedure 11.9, was submitted (item 12 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

To consider any changes to Committee membership for the current Council year (2020/21) (if any).

There were no proposals to consider.