Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 1 December 2016.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 1 December 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of interest from any Member or Officer on any item on this agenda.

All Members are asked to submit any declarations in writing by 9.30am on Wednesday 18 January, 2017 if possible.

None.

To receive any announcements from the Mayor, Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council, Members of the Cabinet, a Chairman of a Committee or the Chief Executive.

1.    The Mayor reminded Members that his Charity Ball was to be held at The North Euston Hotel, Fleetwood on Friday 24 March 2017 and said that tickets were now available, at a cost of £32.50 each, from Andrea Mullin.

2.    The Mayor announced that a concert by the Blackpool Male Voice Choir was to be held in aid of the Mayor’s charities at the Thornton Little Theatre on Friday 10 March 2017.  Tickets were £6 and were available from Andrea Mullin.

3.    The Mayor said there would also be an evening of musical entertainment in aid of the Mayor’s charities provided by a number of local schools at Thornton Little Theatre on 21 April, for which tickets would be available soon.

4.    The Mayor said that, as already stated in an email to all Councillors, Councillor Ruth Duffy had kindly donated an Apple iPad Air 2 to the Mayor’s Charities and a Raffle was being held to raise proceeds to be split equally between NSPCC Blackpool Fylde and Wyre and SSAFA Lancashire.  He said that he hoped all Councillors would buy and/or sell some tickets, which were £1 each.  Cllr R Duffy thanked Cllr Henderson for again printing the tickets for free.

5.    The Mayor said that he was pleased to announce that sales of corporate ties had so far raised £92.00 for the Mayor’s charities.

6.    The Street Scene, Parks and Open Spaces Portfolio Holder (Cllr Henderson) made an announcement about the Council’sexcellent achievements at the recent Loo of the Year awards and also for the outstanding recognition for the refuse collection service in Wyre at the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards. He presented a trophy and certificates to the Mayor.

7.    The Mayor said that he was very pleased to announce that the Mayor Elect for 2017/18 was Cllr Ted Taylor.

Cllr Ted Taylor said that he was honored to be asked to be Mayor and announced that the Deputy Mayor for 2017/18 would be Cllr Marge Anderton.

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public under Procedure Rule 9.1.

Any questions or statements received by the specified deadline of noon on Friday 13 January 2017 will be published and circulated separately.

None.

To receive any questions from Members of the Council to the Mayor, a member of the Cabinet or the Chairman of a Committee under Council Procedure Rule 12.1

Any questions received by the specified deadline of noon on Friday 13 January 2017 will be published and circulated separately.

None.

To receive reports from Cabinet Members. (In accordance with Procedure Rule 11.3 Councillors will be able to ask questions or make comments).

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Gibson) submitted a report. 

Councillor Gibson referred to compliments about a number of Council employees recently published on the Council’s web site. 

Councillor Gibson responded to comments and questions from:

-       Councillor Michael Vincent about Labour Party policy on top level pay and senior officer salaries at Lancashire County Council;

-       Councillor R Duffy about the impact of Government cuts on the provision of adult social care and health services; 

-       Councillor Beavers about Wyre’s lack of involvement in the proposed Combined Authority for Lancashire.

RESOLVED: that the report be noted.

The Resources Portfolio Holder (Councillor A Vincent) submitted a report.

There were no comments or questions to Councillor A Vincent.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Street Scene, Parks and Open Spaces Portfolio Holder (Councillor Henderson) submitted a report.

Cllr Henderson responded to comments and questions from:

-       Councillor Michael Vincent about a possible Scrutiny Task Group review of the refuse collection contract, prior to a decision being made in 2020 on whether or not to extend the contract with the current providers;

-       Councillor Hodgkinson about action taken by the Engineering Team to protect cyclists emerging from Jubilee Gardens;

-       Councillor M Anderton about the number of reports of dog fouling and arrangements for the introduction of a new Dog Control Order;

-       Councillor Barrowclough about the frequency of refuse collections and the restoration of the Mount Pavilion.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder (Councillor Murphy) submitted a report.

Councillor Murphy said that a press release was due to be made the following day about the outcome of the Council’s application for a further round of Coastal Communities Funding, referred to in paragraph 2.1 of his report. 

Councillor Murphy also said that indications about the outcome of the bid for Government funding to encourage businesses to come to the Hillhouse Enterprise Zone, referred to in paragraph 5.4 of his report, appeared to be quite positive.

Councillor Murphy responded to comments and questions from:

-       Councillor B Birch about the Annual Wyre Business Awards Dinner;

-       Councillors Lady Atkins, S Turner, Beavers and Shewan about the timescale for receipt from Lancashire County Council of evidence on the capacity of the local road network needed for the Local Plan.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Neighbourhood Services and Community Safety Portfolio Holder (Councillor Berry) submitted a report.

Cllr Berry thanked the volunteer CCTV operators for their work over the Christmas holiday period.

Councillor Berry also referred to a conference organised by the Churchtown Flood Action Group which was to be held on Saturday 28 January at Myerscough College.  He said that there was an excellent list of speakers and asked any Members interested in attending to contact him as soon as possible.

Councillor Berry responded to a question from Councillor Hodgkinson about the possibility of using CCTV footage to identify owners who allowed their dogs to foul public areas.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Leisure and Culture Portfolio Holder (Councillor Bowen) submitted a report.

There were no comments or questions to Councillor Bowen.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Health and Community Engagement Portfolio Holder (Councillor V Taylor) submitted a report.

Cllr Taylor responded to comments and questions from:

-       Cllr Beavers about future meetings of the  Healthier Fleetwood group;

-       Cllr Ballard about the community engagement skills training session for Councillors referred to in paragraph 2.2 of her report, which she confirmed was taking place at 5.30pm on Wednesday 1 February.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder responded to comments made by the Leader about potential investment from Chinese businesses at the Hillhouse Enterprise Zone.

The Leader endorsed comments made by the Health and Community Engagement Portfolio Holder praising Carole Leary, in her role as Out of Hours Duty Officer, for her actions when supporting a number of local families evacuated from their homes in Pilling because of a fire in a nearby industrial unit. 

Report of the Lead Member for Young People (Cllr Kay).

The Lead Member for Young People (Cllr Kay) submitted a report on the activities she had been involved in over the last year in her role as Lead Member for Young People.

There were no comments or questions to Cllr Kay.

RESOLVED the report be noted.

Report of the Service Director Performance and Innovation.

The Service Director Performance and Innovation submitted a report on the outcome of an interim review of the Members Allowances Scheme undertaken by the Independent Remuneration Panel.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

1.    That the implementation from 11 May 2017 of the previously agreed 1% increase in the Basic Allowance paid to all Councillors, be noted.

2.    That no changes be made to any Special Responsibility Allowances prior to the next full review of the Members Allowances Scheme to be undertaken in the Autumn of 2017.

3.    That the two additional conditions for the payment of Carer’s and Dependent Carers’ Allowances set out in paragraph 5.5 of the report be approved, namely: that receipts for care costs must be provided; and, that allowances cannot be claimed for care provided by an immediate family member or a member of the Councillors household.

Report of the Resources Portfolio Holder (Cllr A Vincent) and the Head of Contact Centre.

The Resources Portfolio Holder (Councillor A Vincent) and the Head of Contact Centre submitted a report on arrangements for the continuation of the current Localised Council Tax Support Scheme, which had originally been  implemented on 1 April 2013.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

1.    That the current Localised Council Tax Support Scheme be continued into the 2017/18 financial year with the additional maximum percentage contribution from working age claimants being no more than 8.5%.

2.    That the original policy be confirmed, recognising that it included a number of specified amounts used to calculate entitlement which might change in line with up-ratings published by the Department of Work and Pensions, that there might also be minor adjustments to the scheme should further guidance be received from the Department for Communities and Local Government and that the roll out of Universal Credit would ultimately replace existing benefits.

Report of the Leader of the Council (Cllr Gibson) and the Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer.

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Gibson) and the Head of Finance submitted a report on arrangements for the appointment of External Auditors from 2018/19.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that approval be given to opt into the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) Scheme for the appointment of External Auditors from 2018/19.

No Notices of Motion have been submitted under Procedure Rule 14.

None received.