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Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Lansdown Hall - Civic Centre, St Stephens Place, Trowbridge, BA14 8AH. View directions

Contact: Kieran Elliott  Email: kieran.elliott@wiltshire.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

33.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

 

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from CouncillorsPhil Alford, Richard Britton, Howard Greenman, Nick Holder, Bob Jones MBE, Laura Mayes, Ashley O’Neill, Stewart Palmen, Pip Ridout, Jonathon Seed, Martin Smith,

Mary Webb, Antonio Piazza and Ian Thorn.

 

In the absence of Councillor Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Gordon King would speak on behalf of the group at the meeting.

 

34.

Minutes of Previous Meeting

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the last meeting of Council held on 20 July 2021.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the Meeting held on 20 July 2021 were presented for consideration, and it was,

 

Resolved:

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2021 be approved and signed as a true and correct record.

35.

Declarations of Interest

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

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations.

 

36.

Announcements by the Chairman

To receive any announcements through the Chairman.

Minutes:

Through the Chairman there were the following announcements:

 

Sir David Amess MP

On behalf of the Council the Chairman expressed condolences to the family and friends of Sir David Amess MP following his recent tragic death. He stated everyone was shocked and saddened to hear of his death and that thoughts and prayers remained with everyone who knew and worked with him. He particularly noted Sir David had died fulfilling his duty engaging and listening to his constituents.

 

Chairman’s Engagements

A list of some recent engagements attended by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, were detailed as below:

 

Events Attended by the Chairman from 20 July 2021 

 

3September 2021  -   Hosted the Fly the Red Ensign for Merchant Navy Day      Flag Raising Ceremony, County Hall. 

23 September 2021-   Wiltshire Lieutenancy Lunch, Bowood Hotel. 

26 September 2021-   CPRE Best Kept Village Competition Presentation Day. Visited Ramsbury, Tilshead and Urchfont. 

5 October 2021       -  Queen’s Green Canopy Celebration Tree Planting Ceremony, Pembroke Park Primary School, Devizes Road, Salisbury. 

 

Events Attended by the Vice-Chairman from 20 July 2021: 

 

3September 2021     - Chippenham Town Council Fly the Red Ensign for  

                                      Merchant Navy Day Flag Raising Ceremony. 

9 September 2021     -  Virtually attended D&WF&RS Medal Presentation Evening. 

 

Poppy Wreaths

Poppy wreaths would be available for collection by Members in the Members room at County Hall, after the meeting.

 

Recorded Votes

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman, it was then

 

Resolved:


That Council suspend paragraphs 22.6.2 and 22.6.4 of Part 4 of the Constitution in respect of recorded voting for the duration of the meeting.

 

37.

Petitions

a)    To receive an update on Petitions

b)    To receive any presentations of Petitions

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman moved and presented a report which gave Council details of three petitions received since the last Council meeting on 20 July 2021. This was seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

 

A petition was presented by Guy Leach, Simon Connolly and Anthony Wells, requesting that plans for 1,200 houses on Salisbury Road, Amesbury be stopped.

 

Councillor Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Development Management, Strategic Planning and Climate Change, noted the points and issues raised by the petition and highlighted that the Council was currently reviewing the Local Plan in line with national legislation. However, he was unable to comment on the process at this stage. He confirmed that consultation would take place on the Local Plan in due course and the public would have an opportunity to comment its detail at that time.

 

It was then,

 

Resolved:

1)    That Council note the report, the petitions received, and the actions being taken in relation to them, as set out in the report.

 

2)    That Council receives the petition presented to the meeting.

 

38.

Public Participation

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public, however due to Covid-19 public health advice, physical attendance at this meeting may be limited. Those wishing to attend are requestd to notify the officer named on this agenda no later than 5pm on 15 October 2021.

 

Statements

Members of the public who wish to makea statement in relation to an item on this agenda are requested to contact the officer named on this agenda no later than 5pm on 15 October 2021. Up to three speakers are allowed for each item.

 

Each statement must:

·       State whom the statement is from (including if representing another person or organisation);

·       state points clearly, and;

·       be readable aloud in approximately 3 minutes.

 

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public 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 (acting on behalf of the Corporate Director) no later than 5pm on Tuesday 12 October 2021 to receive a written response, or Thursday 14 October 2021 to receive a verbal response at the meeting. 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.

 

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman explained the rules for public participation as detailed in the agenda.

 

Four questions were submitted for the meeting. Those relevant to a particular item on the agenda would be taken under that item.

 

All questions received and the written responses provided were published in agenda supplement 1 and would be taken as read at the meeting.

 

The Chairman then invited those members of the public whose question did not relate to a particular agenda item whether they wished to ask a supplementary question, or to receive their verbal response, as follows:

 

·       Q21-19 – Peter Curtis – not in attendance

·       Q21-20 – Nick Beard – not in attendance

·       Q21-21 and 22 – Bill Jarvis – questions were withdrawn

 

39.

Corporate Parenting Panel Annual Report

Report from the Corporate Director - People

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Peter Hutton, Portfolio holder for Safeguarding and Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel presented the  Corporate Parenting Panel Annual Report and moved the recommendations as set out in the report, which were seconded by Councillor Jane Davies.

 

Councillor Hutton thanked those who worked to support children in care and reported that the role of Wiltshire’s Corporate Parenting Panel is to secure Councillor involvement and commitment throughout the Council to deliver better outcomes for children and young people who are looked after or care experienced. All Councillors were reminded that they have responsibilities as a “corporate parent” for children and young people who are Looked After in Wiltshire. 

 

Councillor Hutton commented specifically on the Corporate Parenting Strategy eight priorities, the development of the Child and Youth Voice Team, the Fostering Excellence programme and impact of Covid-19.

 

The report gave an overview on the Panel’s work programme, the scrutiny of performance, the Corporate Parenting Strategy, details and data within the key service areas, challenges/successes during Covid-19, progress since the 2019 Ofsted inspection, the Panel’s impact and ambition, the work of the Safeguarding Children and Young People Panel and planned next steps to further strengthen Corporate Parenting in Wiltshire. The report was reviewed by the Children’ Select Committee Standing Task Group on 22 September 2021 and by the Corporate Parenting Panel at their meeting on 28 September 2021.

 

The council then heard from officers Jo Sutton and Cameron Strosen, who presented a brief summary of the year’s activities of the Child and Youth Voice Team. Members were encouraged to promote involvement in the Youth Council to their local schools. The Chairman thanked Jo and Cameron on behalf of the council for speaking about the Child and Youth Voice Team.

 

The Chairman then invited Group Leaders to comment on the report and presentations received.

 

Councillor Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council, reiterated earlier comments that all Councillors were corporate parents with responsibilities and a role to play. He welcomed the comments about the Youth Council and urged all Members to speak with their local schools about involvement.

 

Councillor Gordon King, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group, welcomed the report and endorsed the comments made and acknowledged his responsibility as a corporate. He was pleased to hear about the Youth Council and the work they were involved with.

 

 

Councillor Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, added his thanks to Jo and Cameron, and noted the comprehensive nature of the report and commended it to the Council.

 

The item was then opened for general debate. Councillor Jon Hubbard Chairman of the Children’s Select Committee confirmed that in accordance with the agreed overview and scrutiny arrangements the draft annual Corporate Parenting Panel report was considered by the Children’s Select Committee’s standing task group on 22 September 2021. He was pleased to report that of the 15 recommendations arising from the Task Group meetings 13 had been adopted, 1 would be included in future reports and 1 was not actioned but he hoped  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

40.

Gambling Statement of Principles

To consider a report from Director – Communities and Neighbourhood.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Military-Civilian Integration, Economic Development, Heritage, Arts, Tourism and Health & Wellbeing introduced the report which detailed the amendments made to the Gambling Statement of Principles (2022-2024) for Wiltshire Council.

 

The Leader explained that following the Licensing Committee’s consideration of the amendments to the Statement of Principles on 13 September 2021 the Committee approved the policy and referred it to Full Council for approval, which he so moved. This was seconded by Councillor Nick Botterill.

The Chairman then invited other Group Leaders to comment on the report and the proposal of the Leader.


Councillor Gordon King, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group, welcomed the report and was satisfied with the accuracy of the Statement. He suggested that the Wiltshire Area Profile map at page 151 of the summons pack needed updating prior to the final version of the Statement being published.


The item was then opened for general debate. A further comment was made about the accuracy of the map on page 101 of the summons pack. The Leader asked Members to forward detail about the inaccuracy of maps directly to the responsible Cabinet Member, Councillor Ashley O’Neill, who would arrange for any necessary amendments.

 

It was then,

 

Resolved:

 

That Council approves the Gambling Statement of Principles (2022 -2024) (Appendix 1) under the Gambling Act 2005.  

 

41.

Constitutional Update - Cabinet Committee

To receive a report from the Monitoring Officer.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Pauline Church, Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement, Commissioning, IT, Digital and Commercialisation, presented a report and recommendations on changes to the Constitution, following a governance review of the Stone Circle companies established by the Council in 2019.

 

The report detailed the seven recommendations approved by the Leader of the Council arising from the Review on 5 October 2021. Recommendation 3 was to create a Shareholder Group as a Sub-Committee of Cabinet with the Leader as Chairman along with two other Cabinet Members. There would be the option to co-opt external commercial expertise to enable the Shareholder Group, after consideration of performance reporting by the Corporate Leadership Team and Overview and Scrutiny, to conduct its role on behalf of the Shareholder.

 

Full Council was responsible for changes to the constitution and was asked to delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to update the constitution once the terms of reference for the Shareholder Group had been drafted. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Richard Clewer.

 

The Chairman then invited Group Leaders to comment on the report and presentation.

 

Cllr Gordon King, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group and Councillor Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, supported the proposals.

 

The item was then debated. Clarity was sought on areas including: the proportion of homes to be rented and those available for sale; to address a need in relation to certain categories of employment accessing the housing market, one of which included care workers; confirmation that the Sub-Committee meetings would be open to the public to attend; that appropriate structures would be in place, drawing strongly from experiences at Nottingham City Council; that a briefing bote would be published detailing the liabilities of Councillors and Directors; assurance that robust scrutiny structures would operate, with governance arrangements being reviewed by the Audit and Governance Committee.

 

At the conclusion of debate, it was then,

 

Resolved:

 

That Council delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer, following consultation with the Leader of the Council, to amend Part 3C of the Constitution as appropriate to include terms of reference for the Stone Circle Shareholder Group.

 

42.

Notices of Motion

To consider the following notices of motions:

Minutes:

The following motions were considered.

42a)

Notice of Motion No 2021-02 - MyWiltshire App

To consider the attached motion from Cllr Paul Sample seeking small adjustments to the MyWiltshire App submission process.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

A motion was moved by Councillor Paul Sample JP asking officers to amend the MyWilts App, used for reporting various matters to the council, to add two final questions, after a report has been closed, to ask: “Has this matter been resolved to your satisfaction?” and: “If not, why not?”.

 

The motion was seconded by Councillor Stewart Palmen.

 

Councillor Sample stated that there was room to improve the App which in turn could increase the number of users, and that the simple change would assist with that.

 

Councillor Pauline Church, Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement, Commissioning, IT, Digital and Commercialisation responded to the motion and welcomed the intent to help improve customer service and interaction with users. As the motion was considered to be an operational matter, the Chairman moved that it be referred to the Leader of the Council for action without debate. This was seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

 

It was then,

 

Resolved:

 

To refer the motion to the Leader of the Council for action.

42b)

Notice of Motion No 2021-03 Climate and Ecology Bill

To consider the attached motion from Cllr Brian Mathew, asking the Council to declare its support for the Climate and Ecology Bill and to write to all Wiltshire MPs to support it.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Dr Brian Mathew proposed the Motion which was seconded by Councillor Gavin Grant. The motion called for the Council to declare its support for the proposed Climate and Ecology Bill and request Wiltshire’s Members of Parliament to publicly declare their support for it.

 

Statements were then received from the following members of the public:

 

·       Adrian Temple-Brown

·       Mel Molem

·       Andrew Nicolson

 

The Chairman then invited Councillor Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Development Management, Strategic Planning and Climate Change an opportunity to respond to the motion and any points raised in the public statements. He confirmed that the private members Bill in question had been proposed by Caroline Lucas MP and it was very likely that the Bill, at its second reading, would not proceed much further in Parliament due to a lack of increased support.

 

Councillor Botterill suggested that it would be more appropriate for the Council to focus on issues that it would be able to influence and referred to the Environment Bill which would have far reaching impacts on how the Council currently operates. In relation to reference to Citizens Assemblies raised by some speakers he indicated that the Houses of Parliament was in fact already undertaking the role being suggested for a Citizens Assembly. He urged the Council to not be distracted by the motion and to wait for the Environment Bill to become an Act of Parliament, with the expectation that this would take place very soon.

 

The Chairman moved that the Council debate the motion, which was seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

 

Group Leaders were then invited to comment upon the motion.

 

Councillor Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council, commented on the Environment Bill and explained that it was a Bill to make provision about targets, plans and policies for improving the natural environment, environmental protection, waste and resource efficiency, air quality, environmental standards, water, nature, biodiversity and conservation. He further commented on the suggestion for a Citizens Assembly, indicating that the Council was unable to dictate how the local Members of Parliament voted in Parliament and that Members were democratically elected unlike the proposals for a Citizens Assembly. He highlighted work already undertaken by the Council and those areas progressing, which included an 80% reduction in emissions within the control of the Council, with a target of zero emissions by 2030, council housing being built to net zero and the insulation of existing council homes, continual lobbying of government in relation to house building, and the investment of £88m to reduce carbon emissions by the Council.

 

Councillor Gordon King, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group, encouraged Members to vote on the motion as they wished but hoped all would consider the matter independently. He noted the importance of protecting climate and ecology in an integrated way as proposed in the Bill and that much work was still needed.

 

Councillor Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, noted it was healthy for the council to debate its different views on this issue, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42b)

Recorded Vote
TitleTypeRecorded Vote textResult
10B: Notice of Motion No. 21-03 Climate and Ecology Bill Motion

To consider the following motion submitted in accordance with the constitution:

 

With the United Nations Climate Change COP26 meeting being hosted by the United Kingdom in Glasgow just weeks away, Wiltshire Council declares its support for the Climate and Ecology Bill and calls on our County's Members of Parliament to publicly declare their support for it.

 

Rejected
  • View Recorded Vote for this item
  • 43.

    Announcements from Cabinet and Committees

    a) The Leader, Cabinet members and Chairmen of Committees will be invited to make any important announcements.

     

    b) Councillors will be given the opportunity to raise questions to the Chairmen of Committees or to the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Authority on the minutes of their meetings, available here.

     

    c) Councillors will be given an opportunity to raise general issues relating to Area Boards but not specific local issues.

     

     

    Minutes:

    There were no announcements.

     

    44.

    Membership of Committees

    To determine any requests from Group Leaders for changes to committee membership in accordance with the allocation of seats to political groups previously approved by the Council.

    Minutes:

    The Chairman invited Group Leaders to request any membership changes to committees, 

     

    Group leaders proposed changes to committee membership as detailed in the resolution.

     

    The Chairman moved the proposed membership changes. This was seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

     

    It was then:

     

    Resolved:

     

    To make the following appointments to Committees:

    • Cllr Jacqui Lay to be appointed to the Northern Area Planning Committee
    • Cllr Ashley O’Neill to be appointed as a substitute to the Northern Area Planning Committee.
    • Cllr Simon Jacobs to be removed from the Officer Appointments Committee
    • Cllr Ashley O’Neill to be appointed to the Officer Appointments Committee
    • Cllr Simon Jacobs to be removed from the Staffing Policy Sub-Committee and appointed as a substitute to the Committee
    • Cllr Ashely O’Neill be appointed to the Staffing Policy Sub-Committee
    • Cllr Ashely O’Neill be removed from the Corporate Parenting Committee
    • Cllr Simon Jacobs be appointed to the Corporate Parenting Committee
    • Cllr Ashley O’Neill to attend future meetings of the Health & Wellbeing Board
    • Cllr Paul Sample to be removed from the Environment Select Committee
    • Cllr Derek Walters be appointed to the Environment Select Committee
    • Cllr Bob Jones MBE to be appointed as a substitute to the Southern Area Planning Committee
    • Cllr Trevor Carbin be appointed to the Southern Area Planning Committee
    • Cllr Paul Sample be removed from the Electoral Review Committee
    • Cllr Ian Thorn be appointed to the Electoral Review Committee

     

    45.

    Members' Questions

    Councillors were required to give notice of any such question in writing to the officer names on the first page of this agenda no later than 5pm nine clear working days before the meeting – Tuesday 5 October 2021 in order to be guaranteed a written response.

     

    Any question received after 5pm on Tuesday 5 October 2021 and no later than 5pm four clear working days before the meeting, Tuesday 12 October 2021, may only receive a verbal response at the meeting. Any questions received after this date will be received at the next meeting.

     

    Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman determines the matter is urgent.

     

    Details of any questions received will be circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

    Supporting documents:

    Minutes:

    Two non-operational questions were received from Councillors, as set out in Supplement 1 to the agenda. Written responses had been provided in Appendix 2 to the report.

     

    Question 21-03 - Progress on motion 22 tabled on 21 July 2020 about Wiltshire Air Ambulance - Councillor Brian Dalton

     

    There was no supplementary question

     

    Questions 21-05 – Buildings at Risk - Councillor Bridget Wayman

     

    A supplementary question was asked about the need for a historic building at risk strategy. The Leader welcomed the proposal and confirmed that he would discuss the preparation of a strategy with officers.