Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Counillors Stewart Dobson, Stephen Oldrieve, Tony Trotman and John Walsh.

Councillor Dobson was substituted by Councillor Paul Oatway QPM.

Councillor Oldrieve was substituted by Councillor Peter Edge.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

There were no announcements.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item.  Please contact the officer named above for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution. Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named above no later than 5pm on Wednesday 14 June in order to receive a written response at the meeting, or else no later than 5pm on Friday 16 June. Please contact the officer named on the first page of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent

The rules on public participation were noted.

To consider a call-in request of Cabinet Member Decision SDSPW-03-16 taken on 7 June 2016 by Councillor Toby Sturgis, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Development Management, Strategic Housing, Operational Property and Waste.

SDSPW-03-16 is in relation to proposed changes to the level of subsidy in kind provided by the Council in respect of waste disposal at its Waste Transfer Stations and Household Recycling Centres by Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector organisations, Housing Associations and Schools.

The call-in was requested by Councillors Chris Caswill, Jon Hubbard, Ricky Rogers, Glenis Ansell, Brian Dalton, Gordon King, Russell Hawker, Graham Wright, Pat Aves, Ian West, Chris Hurst, Steve Oldrieve, Trevor Carbin, Magnus Macdonald, Bill Douglas, Ian Thorn, Peter Edge, Bob Jones MBE and Ian McLennan.

A report from the Head of Democracy and Performance is attached.

On 14 June 2016 the Designated Scrutiny Officer and Head of Democracy and Performance received a request from the requisite number of non-executive members that they wished to call-in Cabinet Member Decision SDSPW-03-16: Cessation of 3^rd Sector Policy Subsidy – VCSE Permits for Household Recycling Centres.

An officer report had been on the procedure to be followed in assessing the call-in, along with a copy of the decision, its supporting information, and the call-in request itself. In particular it was emphasised that the call-in was to determine if the correct process had been followed in taking the decision, and whether everything that was required to be taken into account had been, not on whether the Committee agreed with the decision itself.

The decision taken under delegated authority by the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Development Management, Strategic Housing, Operational Property and Waste involved the introduction of charges for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations to continue disposing of waste at Household Recycling Centres (HRC).

Prior to presentation and debate, a statement was received from Mr Matt Kelcher from the Charity Retail Association on behalf of their members in Wiltshire. The benefits of the decision were questioned, along with confusion over the aims of the decision.

The lead signatory of the Call-in, Councillor Chris Caswill, then outlined why he considered that the Decision had not been made in accordance with the principles of decision making as detailed in Article 15.3 of Part 2 of the Constitution and as listed in the covering report.

Councillor Caswill pointed to the fact 18 other councillors of cross party background had signed his call-in request, indicating how important a decision it had been. He explained that the aims of the call-in were unclear on whether its primary aim was to reduce queues at HRCs or save money, and in any case had provided no evidence in its report that VCSEs and schools had contributed to those queues. It was also unclear that it would be effective in achieving either of those aims, and even if it did, the action that would be taken was disproportionate.

It was also stated the decision would lead to inefficiencies, with schools being provided financial support on one hand but then charged for disposing of waste. The decision did not serve communities or demonstrate there had been working in partnership with VCSEs and others, and would not promote wellbeing as it would discourage the recycling of materials if people worried by donating to charities, who would not be able to dispose of that which could not be sold, would face charges for doing so. As such it was also against the council’s environmental objectives.

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Toby Sturgis, then responded to the points raised and described how he believed he had followed the necessary processes and principles of decision making, supported by Councillor Jerry Wickham, Portfolio Holder for Waste.

The Cabinet Member stated the HRCs were designed solely for disposal of householder waste. From 2012  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

To confirm the date of the next meeting as 5 July 2016.

The next meeting is scheduled for 5 July 2016.