Minutes of Proceedings
At an Ordinary Meeting of the District Council of Ryedale held in the Council Chamber at Ryedale House, Malton on Thursday, 6 November 2008
| Councillors | JR Raper (in the Chair) | |
|---|---|---|
| G Acomb | D Jackson | |
| P J Andrews | Mrs D E Keal | |
| S Arnold NDF MICFor | H L Keal | |
| Mrs V M Arnold | KA Knaggs MA MSc FCA | |
| J R Bailey | E T Legard | |
| Mrs L M Burr | Mrs E L Shields BA MA | |
| J S Clark | C R Wainwright | |
| B G Cottam | Ms N Warriner MBE | |
| Mrs L Cowling | Mrs J Wilford | |
| D E Cussons | J Windress | |
| Mrs P J De Wend Fenton | ||
| Mrs J Frank | ||
| A E Hemesley OBE | ||
| E Hope |
Ms J Baldwin, Mrs L Carter, P Cresswell, R Etherington, Mrs M Jackson, J Rudd, Miss J Waggott and A Winship.
Reverend K Holding
255. Apology for Absence
An apology for absence was received from Councillors Aslett, Hawkins, Mrs Hodgson, Maud and Woodward.
256. Public Question Time
The following question was submitted by Mr Barber, Cropton:
"The number of Ryedale citizens in fuel poverty is increasing. There will also be a further number of people whose pay or pensions are not keeping pace with inflation. This applies not only to employees of this Council but also to many pensioners for whom the inflation rate is often above the published figure.
In view of the policies of the two political parties with a large representation on this council that favour lower taxation and that of the Conservative Party that will freeze council tax increases when it comes to power, will this Council set a nil percentage increase in the council tax for the coming financial year? If not, will this Council give full reasons for not so doing?
The Chairman responded as follows:
"The current band D Council Tax for Ryedale District Council is £172.41. Nearly 60% of all properties in the area are in bands A, B and C and therefore pay less than this each year towards the services provided by Ryedale District Council.
Current proposals as approved by the Policy and Resources Committee are that the Council Tax for 2009/2010 will increase by not more than 4%. A 4% increase equates to £6.90 per year, approximately 13p per week.
The Council is also facing above inflation increases in the costs of it's activities. At the same time increases in Government Grant are projected at 3.12% for 2009/2010, this provides approximately 54% of the income of the Authority to meet its budget requirement.
The Conservative Party's proposals are for increases held at 2.5% and would attract additional Grant from the Government to enable the Council tax to be frozen for two years.
The Council's budget for 2009/2010 is being prepared with the need to find savings in the budget of over £0.5m, which equates to over 6% of its net budget. This well mean some difficult decisions being made by Councillors. A zero Council tax would add nearly £150,000 additional saving to this already challenging target.
Whilst Ryedale District Council could impose a freeze, if other precepting Authorities, the County Council, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and North Yorkshire Police all set a 4% increase, the overall bill would still rise by around 3.5%."
257. Minutes
The minutes of an Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 4 September 2008 and the minutes of an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council held on 13 October (previously circulated) were presented.
Resolved
That the minutes of an Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 4 September 2008 and the minutes of an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council held on 13 October be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
258. Urgent Business
The Chairman reported that there was one item to be dealt with as a matter of urgency by virtue of Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The item related to Malton Town Centre improvements and was considered urgent, as Council approval of the allocation of funding of £185,000 from the capital programme would provide an additional eight weeks in which to deliver the scheme as the Yorkshire Forward funding must be utilised by 31 March 2009.
259. Declarations of Interest
In accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct the following declarations of interest were received:
Councillor Cottam declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 10(b) - as he is Chairman of the Yorkshire Housing Group.
Councillor Andrews declared a personal interest in items relating to the Malton Town Centre Strategy as he attended meetings with businesses.
Councillor Legard declared a personal interest in items relating to the Malton Town Centre Strategy as he has an interest in a shop in Malton.
Councillor Mrs Burr declared a personal interest in items relating to the Malton Town Centre Strategy as the owner of business premises in Malton and Norton.
Councillor Hemesley declared a personal interest in item 10(a) as a representative of on the Community Leisure Board.
260. Announcements
The Chief Executive reported that notification had been received that the North Yorkshire County Council elections and the European elections were both to be held on 4 June 2009.
The Chairman announced that the date for his Civic Service had been rearranged and was to take place on Sunday 26 April 2009.
The Council Dinner was to take place on 6 March 2009 at The Old Lodge, Malton.
A dance in aid of the Chairman's Charity Fund was to be held on 21 March 2009 at the Milton Rooms.
The Chairman reported that a petition had been received in connection with the Council's decision not to provide free swimming for under 16s. The Chairman reported that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 23 (Petitions) the petition was to be referred to the next meeting of the Community Services & Licensing Committee.
261. To Receive Any Questions Submitted by Members Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 10.2 (Questions on Notice at Full Council)
Councillor Keal submitted the following questions to the Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee:
1. The council views with serious concern the impact of the meltdown in financial markets on residents in Ryedale.
Assurances need to be given publicly that the authority's reserves - essential to vital projects and services - are invested safely.
Would the chairman of Policy and Resources please confirm that the Authority has steered well clear of the Icelandic bank iceberb?
Response: The Council did not have any investments with Icelandic banks.
Is the threat also being turned into an opportunity through achieving greater than expected income from high levels of interest available to large lenders?
Response: Yes there are good returns available on the money market through the council investing its surplus funds and reserves.
Would the chairman please indicate the expected extra income this will generate in the current financial year over and above committed expenditure?
Response: It is likely that investment income will exceed the budget target in the current year by approximately £200,000. The Council's current policy on such funds is that they are used towards capital expenditure.
2: Housing Benefit
In view of the current credit crunch and damage to the incomes of Ryedale residents, would the chairman of Policy and Resources please indicate whether claims for housing benefit have increased over the past year?
Response: It is one of the aims of the service to increase take up and work is actively undertaken in this respect as there is significant underclaiming of certain benefits. During the past year the number of claims has increased as it does each year.
Has the number of claims gone up compared to the previous year? If so, by how much? To what extent is any change attributed to people losing their own homes and being forced to seek rented accommodation?
Response: There is no significant increase in claims in the current year compared to the same period last year. There has been an increase in customers coming to the counter in recent months, in part resulting from job losses/reduced hours from local employers. There is no evidence that at this stage it results from people losing their homes. There are presently 3,339 claimants.
3. Pension Funds
North Yorkshire County Council looks after the pension funds of our staff. Can we be assured that the County has also steered clear of the Icelandic banks previously regarded as a safe haven by many authorities.
Repsonse: The pension fund did not have investments with Icelandic banks.
Are we able to assure staff that pensions are adequately protected?
Response: The Local Government Pension Scheme is a statutory scheme. This means its existence and benefits are guaranteed by law.
262. Standards Committee
It was moved by Councillor Mrs De Wend Fenton and seconded by Councillor Mrs Keal that, with the exception of Minute No. 205 (Protocol for the Disclosure of Confidential or Exempt Information by Members), the minutes of a meeting of the Standards Committee held on 18 September 2008 be received.
The Chief Executive drew Members' attention to Minute No. 205 (Protocol for the Disclosure of Confidential or Exempt Information by Members) and to part 2 of the resolution, which recommended Full Council to adopt, with the amendments agreed by the Standards Committee, the Protocol for the Disclosure of Confidential or Exempt Information by Members as attached at Annex 1 to the Standards minutes and that this be incorporated where appropriate into the Access to Information Procedure Rules in the Council's Constitution.
It was moved by Councillor Knaggs and seconded by Councillor Cottam that the recommendation of the Standards Committee with regard to Minute No. 205 as outlined above be endorsed.
Councillors Clark, Andrews and Mrs Burr were not in favour of endorsing the recommendation and spoke against the motion. Councillor Knaggs reminded Members that all Councillors had been consulted on the Protocol and the three independent co-opted members of the Standards Committee were in favour of its acceptance.
Upon being put to the vote the motion to adopt the Protocol was carried.
Resolved
(a) That the minutes of a meeting of the Standards Committee held on 18 September 2008 be received with the exception of Minute No. 205 (Protocol for the Disclosure of Confidential or Exempt Information by Members)
(b) That with reference to Minute No. 205 (Protocol for the Disclosure of Confidential or Exempt Information by Members), part (1) of the resolution be received
(c) That with reference to Minute No. 205 (Protocol for the Disclosure of Confidential or Exempt Information by Members), part (2) of the resolution, the recommendation of the Standards Committee be endorsed and that Full Council adopts, with the agreed amendments, the Protocol for Disclosure fo Confidential or Exempt Information by Members as attached at Annex 1 to the minutes of the Standards Committee meeting held on 18 September 2008 and that this be incorporated where appropriate in the Council's Constitution.
NB Councillors Andrews and Clark recorded their votes against part (c) above.
263. Community Services & Licensing Committee
It was moved by Councillor Mrs Cowling and seconded by Councillor Mrs Arnold that the minutes of a meeting of the Community Services & Licensing Committee held on 25 September 2008 be approved and adopted.
With reference to Minute No 214 (Boiler Replacement Programme & Energy Efficiency Improvements) an amendment was moved by Councillor Clark and seconded by Councillor Andrews that part (a) of the preamble be amended by the deletion of the word 'biomass' and substitution of the word ' woodchip'.
Upon being put to the vote the amendment was carried.
Resolved
That, subject to Minute No. 214 (Boiler Replacement Programme & Energy Efficiency Improvements) being amended by the deletion in part (a) of the preamble be amended by the deletion of the word 'biomass' and substitution of the word ' woodchip', the minutes of a meeting of the Community Services & Licensing Committee held on 25 September be approved and adopted.
264. Policy & Resources Committee
It was moved by Councillor Wainwright and seconded by Councillor Acomb that the minutes of a meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 2 October 2008 be approved and adopted.
Councillor Clark expressed concern regarding the recommendations to Full Council as detailed in Minute No. 224 (Review of the Constitution: Consideration by Council of Committee Minutes). It was moved by Councillor Clark and seconded by Councillor Andrews that the recommendations as detailed in the resolved portion of Minute 224 be referred back to the Constitution Review Working Party for further consideration. In considering the amendment some Members were of the opinion that Full Council should have the opportunity to debate and amend all Committee minutes. Conversely, the view was expressed that Council meetings were not effective and the proposed changes were welcome.
Upon being put to the vote the amendment was lost.
With reference to Minute No. 224 (Review of the Council Constitution: Consideration by Council of Committee Minutes) it was moved by Councillor Clark and seconded by Councillor Mrs Burr that part 1 of the recommendation to Full Council be rejected.
Upon being put to the vote the amendment was lost.
With reference to Minute No. 224 (Review of the Council Constitution: Consideration by Council of Committee Minutes) it was moved by Councillor Clark and seconded by Councillor Mrs Burr that parts 2 to 7 of the recommendation to Full Council be rejected.
Upon being put to the vote the amendment was lost.
With reference to Minute No. RWP. 97 (Capital Programme) of the Minutes of a Meeting of the Resources Working Party held on 26 August 2008, Councillor Clark expressed concern regarding part (iiii) of the resolved portion, which authorised refurbishment works to the Civic Suite. An amendment was moved by Councillor Clark and seconded by Councillor Mrs Burr that the refurbishment works be considered as a capital bid.
Members requested that a recorded vote be taken on the amendment.
Recorded vote
For the amendment
Councillors Acomb, Andrews, Bailey, Mrs Burr, Clark, Mrs De Wend Fenton, Frank, Hemesley, Hope, Jackson, Mrs Keal, Keal , Knaggs, Mrs Shields, Mrs Warriner, Mrs Wilford and Windress (17)
Against the amendment
Councillor Raper (1)
The amendment was, therefore, carried.
With reference to Minute No. 230 (DEFRA Consultation on the Principle of Direct Elections to National Park Authorities) Councillor Clark expressed the opinion that residents within the National Park should have the ability to elect their representatives. It was moved by Councillor Clark and seconded by Councillor Mrs Burr that part (b) of the resolution to Minute No. 230 be amended to read "That the Council Solicitor be authorised to submit a further formal response to the consultation called for as many representatives as possible to be directly elected by people living within the National Part area"
Upon being put to the vote the amendment was lost.
Resolved
That the minutes of a meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held on 2 October 2008 be approved and adopted with the exception of part (iii) of the resolved portion of Minute No. RWP. 97 (Capital Programme) relating to the refurbishment of the Civic Souite, which it was agreed to be considered as a capital bid.
265. Overview & Scrutiny Committee
It was moved by Councillor Mrs Shields and seconded by Councillor Mrs Wilford that the minutes of an ordinary meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 9 October 2008 be approved and adopted.
Resolved
That the minutes of an ordinary meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 9 October 2008 be approved and adopted.
266. Planning Committee
The minutes of meetings of the Planning Committee held on 27 August 2008, 9 September 2008 and 23 September 2008 (previously circulated) were presented.
Resolved
That the minutes of meetings of the Planning Committee held on 27 August 2008, 9 September 2008 and 23 September 2008 be received.
267. Notice of Motion Submitted Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 11 (Part 4) of the Council Constitution
It was moved by Councillor Keal and seconded by Councillor Mrs Shields that:
As with local authorities across the country, Ryedale District Council has a responsibility to protect the well-being and security of its residents.
In view of the present financial crisis this Council requests that the Bank of England promotes the responsible regulation of our financial sector.
The Authority asks the Bank of England to further cut interest rates to ease the burden on homeworkers and businesses in our area and the nation.
The Council calls upon the Government to:
The Council agrees that the Chief Executive sends a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England informing them of this resolution.
It was suggested by Councillor Mrs Cowling that it was important to ensure that any cuts in the base rate were passed on for the benefit of homeowners and businesses. As mover of the motion Councillor Keal accepted the amendment.
An amendment was moved by Councillor Clark and seconded by Councillor Andrews "To limit the income range of all those in banking to five times that of the lowest earner i.e. the package at the top is no more than five times that of the lowest paid worker". Upon being put to the vote the amendment was lost.
Upon being put to the vote as the substantive motion, including the amendment suggested by Councillor Mrs Cowling and accepted by Councillor Keal as the mover of the original motion, the motion was amended and carried.
Resolved
That in view of the present financial crisis this Council requests the Bank of England to promote the responsible regulation of our financial sector.
The Authority asks the Bank of England to further cut interest rates to ease the burden on homeowners and businesses in our area and the nation.
The Council calls upon the Government to:
The Council agrees that the Chief Executive sends a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England informing them of this resolution.
268. Capital Programme Re-profiling - Ryedale Pool
The Corporate Director (s151) submitted a report the purpose of which was to seek approval to re-profile the implementation date of all current schemes for Ryedale Pool within the current Capital Programme into the current financial year.
The current Capital Programme included three schemes at Ryedale Pool, Pickering. One scheme was scheduled for the current financial year (pool extract £12,000) and the remaining two for financial year 2010/2011 (re-grouting pool tank £15,000 and essential work to the ceiling £70,000).
All three schemes would require the pool to be drained and two of the schemes were working at ceiling height and therefore required scaffolding.
Pool draining and refilling has to be carried out gradually and could take at least ten days. It was also generally acknowledged that it impacted on customer visits immediately after the closure; it was costly and time consuming. It was, therefore, important to keep the number of closures to a minimum. It was estimated at this stage that the works would necessitate the building being closed for a total of fourteen days, however this was assuming that works on the air vents went according to plan. This was to be the subject of futher investigations once the scaffolding is in place.
In the case of the three schemes referred to, the two programmed for 2010-2011 had been reassessed and their priority had increased. In addition, there was a saving to be made by carrying out these works simultaneously. This saving was made up of the shared scaffolding cost, the closure costs and other items was estimated to be in the order of £10,000.
Resolved
That the report be received and
(a) the two capital schemes for Ryedale Pool in 2010/2011 be brought forward in the Capital Programme to take place in 2008/09 together with an existing scheme this year; and
(b) the value of the works in total for Ryedale Pool in 2008/2009 to be revised to £87,000
269. Mortgage Deposit Scheme
The Head of Economy & Housing submitted a report (previously circulated), which sought approval for the development and implementation of a Mortgage Deposit Scheme to assist purchasers of affordable housing secured within the provision of Section 106 Agreements.
The Council had been successful in securing the agreement to provide affordable housing through the use of Section 106 Agreements in connection with planning applications, which had been submitted for market housing developments. Although the current economic downturn had a marked effect on the potential for this mechanism to secure provision of affordable housing there were difficulties, which were preventing potential purchasers from acquiring properties that had already been secured and were for sale. The purpose of the report was to seek to resolve these difficulties and ensure that potential purchasers were able to acquire these properties.
Details of the scheme were outlined in the report. The scheme as proposed would hopefully provide a solution to difficulties that could not have been envisaged at the time of the original Section 106 Agreements had been entered into. It would ensure that the Council made full use of powers that were available to it in terms of securing the provision of affordable housing as well as meeting the aspirations of qualifying purchasers. It would also provide an opportunity to evaluate the success of such a scheme, without having an adverse impact on the capital programme for the current financial year.
Resolved
(a) That approval be given for the development and implementation of a Mortgage Deposit Scheme to assist purchasers of affordable housing secured within the provisions of Section 106 Agreements; and
(b) That the Capital Programme for 2008/09 be amended such that £75,000 from the allocation from Home Repair Grants is allocated to establish funding for a Mortgage Deposit Scheme.
NB Councillor Clark recorded his vote against the above decision.
270. Mobility Benefits for Blind People
The Leader of the Council submitted correspondence received from the Royal National Institution of Blind People (previously circulated), in connection with a national campaign launched in August 2006 to ensure that blind residents were given access to essential mobility benefits to enable them to travel safely and live independently. The latter included a draft motion for the Council's consideration.
The Council noted:
1. That blind people experience significant barriers to independent mobility
2. That blind people are often isolated and find it difficult to access basic services without mobility assistance.
3. That many blind residents in this authority area find it difficult to access shops, supermarkets, doctors, dentists and community facilities and centres.
4. That our blind residents find it difficult to access many Council services ranging from housing to voting without mobility support and face additional costs as a result, such as using taxis or private hire vehicles
5. That blind people are not entitled to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance
6. Loss of usable sight clearly causes significant independent mobility problems and incurs significant additional and unmet costs.
7. That blind people are, in many parts of England, excluded from social care support because their needs are not considered 'critical' or 'substantial'
Resolved
(a) That the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council be requested to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt Hon James Purnell MP, expressing the concerns as outlined in 1 to 7 above
(b) That the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council be requested to write to Mr John Greenway MP for Ryedale requesting that he signs up to EDM 1982 and writes to the Secretary of State expressing these concerns; and
(c) That this Council supports the Royal National Institute of Blind People's (RNIB) campaign for securing the higher rate mobility component of DLA for blind people
271. Appointment of Representative on Outside Organisations
1. North Yorkshire Building Control Partnership
Resolved
That Councillors Mrs Cowling and Wainwright be appointed substitute Members of the North Yorkshire Building Control Partnership.
2 Malton Museum Foundation
Resolved
That the Council's Heritage Member Champion be appointed to the Malton Museum Board of Management.
272. Urgent Business
The following item was considered as it was decided by the Chairman to be urgent by virtue of Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.
273. Malton Town Centre Improvements
The Head of Economy & Housing submitted a report as an urgent item (previously circulated), in order to allow more time (eight weeks) to deliver work that utilised Yorkshire Forward funding that had to be spent prior to 31 March 2009. To agree to allocate £185k as match funding from the Council's capital programme, and agree the associated processes needed to take forward a package of improvements to Malton Town Centre in partnership with Yorkshire Forward.
The report was brought to Council following receipt of confirmation that Yorkshire Forward had fully approved the Business Plan for a range of Malton Town Centre improvements and designs. Accordingly, the Council had been offered a grant of £138 from Yorkshire Forward against a total programme of £350k. It was anticipated that the remaining elements of £350k were to be provided by this Council (£185k) and North Yorkshire County Council and other third parties (£27k).
A report had been submitted to the meeting of the Resources Working Party held the previous day, 5 November 2008, when it had been agreed that given the need to utilise the Yorkshire Forward funding before 31 March 2009, a report be submitted direct to Council.
The proposed measures were as follows:
The grant offered was for a package of improvements:
(i) Small scale improvements to be completed or underway by March 2009
(ii) To compliment the small scale works, the package also included the development of detailed designs and costings, including business plans, for two major projects that would be implemented after March 2009:
Members expressed support for the scheme and endorsed the measures as outlined in the report. Councillor Andrews recorded his opposition to any future plans to pedestrianise Market Place, Malton
Resolved
(a) That an allocation in the capital programme of £185,000 towards the Malton Town Centre improvements proposal be approved
(b) That the involvement of the Malton and Norton Partnership in approval of the scope and briefs and monitoring of performance be endorsed
(c) That the procurement of suppliers or contractors as appropriate to undertake the various elements of the work be approved
(d) That a waiver of Standing Orders such that procurement of the above can be undertaken using Office of Government Commerce Framework Contracts, Yorkshire Forward's Consultant Panels, or other such appropriately tendered framework contract as appropriate be approved
(e) That delegated authority be granted to the Head of Economy & Housing, in consultation with the Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee, to appoint suppliers or contractors of services subject to approval of the Corporate Director (s151)
NB In accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, Councillor Mrs Wilford declared a personal interest in the above item as a member of the Malton & Norton Area Partnership.
274. Information Item
Report on the Overview & Scrutiny Conference submitted by Councillor Mrs Shields.