Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Allison Bucknell, Mary Douglas, Bob Jones, Magnus Macdonald, Ricky Rogers, John Walsh, Nick Blakemore and Christine Crisp.

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the last meeting of Council held on 14 July 2015.

The minutes of the Meeting held on 14 July 2015 were presented.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the last Council meeting held on 14 July 2015be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

There were no declarations of interest made.

The Chairman drew the meetings attention to the arrangements for the day’s meeting, specifically referencing fire safety and that the meeting was being recorded for live webcast.

The Chairman stated that details of his and the Vice-Chairman’s activities since the last meeting would be available via his blog http://wiltshirecouncilchair.blogspot.co.uk/

The Chairman did, however, make the following announcements at the meeting:

(A)         HM Queen – Longest Serving Monarch

Firstly, on behalf of the Council, the Chairman had written to Her Majesty the Queen to offer congratulations to her on becoming the longest serving monarch and thanking her for her dedication and service to the Country.

The office of the Queen had, in reply, offered her thanks and sent her best wishes.

(B)         Councillor Jane Scott, Leader of the Council

Secondly, the Chairman, congratulated Cllr Jane Scott on the recent announcement of her appointment to the House of Lords as a Life Peer. He felt that this was indeed an honour and a well deserved privilege for Cllr Scott, but it was also an honour for Wiltshire.

A report by the Democratic Governance Manager was presented which provided details of the five petitions received for the period since the last Council meeting. It was highlighted that no requests had been received to present petitions at this meeting.

Resolved:

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

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  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 22 September 2015. 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.

The Chairman drew the meeting’s to the questions and answers circulated in the agenda supplement.

The Chairman stated that there was a question and statement regarding the

Community Governance Review and that this would be taken under

that item later on the agenda.

Mrs Iris Thompson, resident of Malmesbury, expressed her strong concern regarding the impact of the building of a new roundabout and the safety of the access to the road where she lived. Her consultant’s opinion differed with the Council’s consultant. She felt that she had not had a proper response to allay her fears, and stated that she felt the Council was failing her and neighbours.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, explained that whilst he understood why Mrs Thompson was concerned, the Council’s engineers were happy that the design was safe, and that he had agreed to review the impact on the access to Inglenook once it was constructed.

It was noted that Jenny Raggett, Campaign for Better Transport, and Patrick Kinnersly, White Horse Alliance, were not present to present their questions which were taken as read.

Details of the questions and responses are attached as Appendix A to these minutes.

Report by Maggie Rae, Corporate Director.  Council will be advised of the recommendations of the Licensing Committee following its meeting to be held on 21 September 2015.

Cllr Keith Humprhies, Cabinet Member for of the Public Protection, and Cllr Pip Ridout, Chairman of the Licensing Committee, presented a report which outlined the results of the public consultation, and sought the approval of the draft Statement of Gambling Principles. The report highlighted the amendments which had been made to the previous draft considered by the Licensing Committee on 28 April 2015, and the meeting’s attention was drawn to the minutes of the meeting of Licensing Committee held on the 21 September where approval of the Statement was recommended.

Cllr Humphries responded to questions raised.

Having been proposed by Cllr Ridout, and seconded by Cllr Allen, the meeting unanimously,

Resolved

That the Licensing Committee notes the amendments made to the Statement of Gambling Principles (as shown in red on the Statement attached as Appendix 5 to the report).

For Council’s ease of reference the rules on how motions on notice are dealt with at Council and guidance on amendments to motions taken from Part 4 of the Council’s constitution are attached.

The meeting considered the following motions:

To consider the attached motion submitted by Councillors Jon Hubbard

and Jeff Osborn.

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Jon Hubbard and Jeff Osborn worded as follows:

“•  Council notes the decision of the Cabinet to end the BBLP Highways and Street-scene maintenance contract 2 years early.

•   Council requires the Cabinet member to instigate an independent enquiry into the issues surrounding this contract, specifically:

•   Identifying and detailing the perceived savings that the council claims to have achieved, and why if such savings were being achieved the council felt it necessary to end the contract early?

•   In tendering the contract was the case for an "in house" operation seriously considered?

•   What were the performance issues experienced with the contract?

•   What the true costs are to Wiltshire Taxpayers resulting from the early ending of the contract

•   What lessons should be learnt from the failure of this contact for any future contacts the council considers awarding?

•   Why has it been necessary for all details about the ending of the contract to be kept secret, what is being hidden from the taxpayers?”

The motion was moved by Cllr Hubbard and duly seconded by Cllr Jeff Osborn.

In presenting his motion, Cllr Hubbard stated that he considered that an independent inquiry was justified in order to establish the facts of the matter to enable the Council to learn the lessons from the failure of the contract.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport explained that in his opinion, an external inquiry would undermine the work of the Scrutiny Committee which was already tasked with looking into this matter and that given there was to be a Peer Review, the extra expenditure on an external consultant would better be spent elsewhere.

The Chairman proposed that the motion be debated and this was duly seconded by Cllr Wheeler and on being put to the vote, it was

Resolved: That the motion be debated.  

Debate

The Chairman invited Group Leaders to comment before opening the debate to other Members.

Cllr Jane Scott commended the work of Scrutiny and stated that she had nothing further to add.

Cllr Glenis Ansell stated that it was clear that Scrutiny had not been able to scrutinise this issue properly.

Cllr Ernie Clark whilst supportive of the work of Scrutiny, considered that the public would feel greater assurance if this was examined independently.

Cllr Ian McLennan stated the matter had already impacted negatively on the Council’s reputation  and that the public remained concerned as to the independence of the Council’s internal systems.

Cllr Simon Killane, Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee, stated that he considered that the task group, chaired by Independent Group member, Cllr Jeff Osborn, provided robust and effective challenge; that he was keen to make sure that the chairman of the Financial Planning Task Group  was also involved; and that he welcomed the peer review.

Cllr Alan Hill stated that whilst he accepted that the motion was well intended, he considered the ongoing involvement of Scrutiny and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

To consider the attached motion submitted by Councillors Jon Hubbard and Gordon King. A briefing note by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director is also attached.

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Jon Hubbard and Gordon King worded as follows:

‘Council notes that over 6 million people have been displaced in Syria and over 3 million people have fled to nearby countries; further notes that thousands of displaced Syrian people have attempted to cross the Mediterranean and have died in the process.

Council recognises the Government’s support through the international aid programme and the recent commitment to resettle 20,000 refugees from the camps in Syria over the next few years.

Council further notes the opportunity to safely resettle the most vulnerable refugees through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Programme.

Council recognises that it is our moral responsibility to do all we can as a Council and as a country to help to alleviate this once in a generation humanitarian crisis.

Council resolves to participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Programme; and

Calls on local people to contact the council if interested in fostering refugee children or if there are offers of suitable self-contained accommodation’.

In presenting his motion, Cllr Hubbard stated that he was speaking not as politician but as human being responding to a major crisis; made reference to previous migration issues; that whilst he did not want to exaggerate the issues, he felt that it was a once in a generation matter; that the motion asks for Council to step up and do its part. Furthermore he was proud of how the Council was responding already, commended the Leader for the steps taken so far, but stated that he would like the Council to do more, because enough is never enough in this kind of situation. Finally, he made reference to volunteer efforts in the Melksham community that he represented, which reflected the efforts across the county and the country.

In response, Cllr Scott stated that she thanked Cllr Hubbard for his motion which she fully supported. The Council had set up a task group with many local partners working together to formulate a plan, since submitted to Government, to detail what help could be offered. Cllr Scott emphasised the need to ensure that all those seeking refuge had their needs met, sustainably in the future, with a view to a pathway to citizenship if they wished; it was now up to the Government to respond but that should contact them in the next few days if they had not yet replied,  especially as winter is coming. The Council and partners would then assess what capacity there was once the first phase had been accepted. Cllr Scott thanked the people of Wiltshire who had offered help, and expressed her desire to co-ordinate efforts from the voluntary sector.

The Chairman then proposed, subsequently seconded by Cllr Wheeler, that the motion be debated at the meeting and on being put to the vote, it was

Resolved:  That the motion be debated.

The Chairman invited the Group Leaders to comment before opening the matter up for wider debate.

In response to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

To consider the attached motion submitted by Councillors Chris Caswill

and Jeff Osborn

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Chris Caswill and Jeff Osborn worded as follows:

‘Council notes that a process for handling responses to highways issues logged by Wiltshire residents has been centrally imposed on Area Boards and Community Area Transport Groups (CATGs). Council regrets that this process has been imposed without local consultation. Council is particularly concerned that

(a)  the process as described in the administrative flowchart is lengthy and bureaucratic, and

(b)  the process does not recognise and include the representative role of the local Wiltshire Council member, even though that role is specifically set out in the Council Constitution, and

(c)  Wiltshire Councillors who are not CATG members are limited to the largely symbolic approval of CATG representations, and

(d)  Parish and Town Councils have an effective veto on action on reside requests from residents, but are required to give first stage consideration to the residents’ issues without the benefit of any professional officer advice, and

(e)  all Community Areas are being required to limit their active consideration of residents’ issues to 5 at any one time, regardless of the size of the Community Area and its highway network, and

(f)    the process will be neither comprehensible nor acceptable to residents who expect their elected representatives to act on their behalf and the Council to provide timely responses to their requests Council recognises that there are resource constraints on highways and road safety improvements as a result of the combination of Government funding cuts and Cabinet decisions. However the current lengthy and rigid process is neither effective nor consistent with representative democracy. Council therefore requests the Cabinet member for Highways to withdraw the current CATG process, to consult with backbench members, and thereafter to replace it with a more flexible system, which incorporates the representative role of the local Wiltshire Council member’.

In presenting his motion, Cllr Caswill stated that with the current CATG process as it staood he was less able to represent his constituents as the Town Council effectively has a veto on proposals; In his view the local Wiltshire Councillor should have primacy. He also expressed concern as to the length and complexity of the process.

In response, Cllr Whitehead stated he had recently reaffirmed at a meeting with the Chairmen of the CATG groups that the paperwork and processes had not been imposed on them, but were there to ensure consistency and efficiency. Whilst CATGs were a success, they took up greater proportion of officer time in comparison to the size of the funding involve. Furthermore, in his view, it was not prudent for a project to go forward without the support of a Parish or Town Council; and that any project should have the wider support of the community. In his experience CATGs were able to progress schemes relatively quickly.

The Chairman then proposed, subsequently seconded by Cllr Wheeler, that the motion be debated and on being put to the vote, it was

Resolved:   That the motion be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

Report by Councillor Jane Scott OBE, Leader of the Council

Cllr Jane Scott OBE, Leader of Wiltshire Council,  presented a report which updated Council on ongoing discussions with Government in respect of the Government’s devolution proposals.

Issues raised in the course of the presentation and discussion included: that the Government had asked Councils to submit proposals by the 4September 2015; that document set out the aspirations of the Council with regard to devolution; that Wiltshire’s bid focused on building on existing partnerships – including Police, Health and LEP partners; that there was a desire to deliver more in partnership with Towns and Parishes; that there had not been any feedback from Government yet; that it was not thought that Wiltshire would be in the first^t wave of devolution deals announced in the  Autumn Statement.

Following a suggestion at the meeting, Cllr Scott agreed that recommendation iii) be amended to include consultation with a cross party working group.

Having been proposed by Cllr Scott, subsequently seconded by Cllr Thompson, it was

Resolved

i)       To note the progress made to date;

ii)     To debate and contribute to the initial proposals that have been put to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to strengthen the councils position and enable positive and constructive discussion with central government;

iii)    To delegate to the Corporate Directors, following consultation with the Leader of the Council and a cross party working group, to discuss and develop proposals with Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and partner organisations; and

iv)    That the final devolution proposal is brought back to Council for approval.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Chairman of the Community Governance Review Working Group,  presented a report which updated Council on progress on the Community Governance Review (CGR), with special reference to consultations now in hand, and to prepare the ground for a full report at the extraordinary meeting of Council on 24 November 2015.

The Chairman reported receipt of questions from Mr Lance Allen , Clerk to Trowbridge Town Council as previously circulated. Mr Allen presented his questions which were responded to by Cllr Stuart Wheeler. A copy of the questions and responses are attached as an appendix to these minutes.

In response to the issues raised, Cllr Wheeler stated that he considered that the Working Group had been consistent in applying the nationally agreed guidelines in considering what parcels of undeveloped land to include in proposals; and that he did not support the inclusion of the land suggested by the Town Council. He went on to say, that during the consultation, the Town Council and all other interested parties were able to put their alternative views across; and that it would, ultimately, be the decision of the Council as to what proposals to accept.

Councillor Wheeler proposed, subsequently seconded by Cllr Scott, that the recommendations in the report be accepted.

In response to an issue raised, the Chairman requested the Working Group to consider the most appropriate method of communication which could be used to contact affected parties.

Councillor Jeff Osborn proposed, subsequently seconded by Cllr Helen Osborn, the following amendment:

‘that all the proposals in appendix C be consulted upon’.

Having been put to the vote, this amendment was LOST..

Admin Note: Cllr Ernie Clarke abstained from the vote

Councillor Steve Oldrieve proposed, subsequently seconded by Cllr Jon Hubbard the following amendment:

‘That the following words be deleted from the proposal:  to endorse the steps taken by the Working Party to date’.

Having been put to the vote, this amendment was LOST.

Having been proposed by Cllr Wheeler, subsequently seconded by Cllr Scott, it was

Resolved

To note progress with the Community Governance Review so far, and to endorse the steps taken by the Working Party to date, with a further report to be presented to the November meeting of Council.

Admin Note: Cllr Ernie Clarke abstained from the vote.

Report by Robin Townsend, Corporate Function, Procurement and Programme Office

Council received a report as required by the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) Regulations 2012 concerning decisions taken by Cabinet under the Special Urgency procedure. The report related to the period since the last such report to Council in May 2015.

The Deputy Leader confirmed that one decision had been taken by Cabinet using the Special Urgency procedure during this period, namely a report on the expansion of St Leonards CE VA Primary School – Award of Contract, details of which were contained in the report. He confirmed that the relevant Regulations had been complied with and that this was a procedure only used in exceptional and urgent circumstances.

Resolved:

That Council notes the report and that one decision had been taken under the special urgency provision in the period since the last report on the 12 May 2015

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 and appointments to other bodies.

The Chairman invited Group Leaders to present any requests for changes to committee membership in accordance with the allocation of seats to political groups previously approved by Council.

Following requests made by Councillor Ernie Clark, Leader of the

Independent Group, the meeting;

Resolved

1.    That Councillor Ernie Clark be appointed to the Northern Area Planning Committee in the place of Councillor Howard Marshall; and

2.    That Councillor Ernie Clark be removed from the substitute list for the Northern Area Planning Committee.

a.         The Chairman will move that Council receives and notes the minutes of Cabinet and the various Committees of the Council as listed in the Minutes Book enclosed separately.

b.         The Chairman will invite the Leader, Cabinet members and Chairmen of Committees to make any important announcements.

c.         Councillors will be given the opportunity to raise questions on points of information or clarification on the minutes presented.

d.         Councillors will be given an opportunity to raise any questions on the minutes of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority – please submit any questions to committee@wiltshire.gov.uk by 21 September 2015.

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

The Chairman moved that Council receive and note the following minutes as

listed in the separate Minutes Book:

The Chairmen of committees were invited to make any special announcements in connection with their respective committees and all members were given the opportunity to raise any questions arising from those minutes.

Cllr Chuck Berrry, Chairman of the Health Select Committee, extended an invitation to members of Council to attend the Health Workshop scheduled for the 9 October 2015.

Councillor Sturgis stated, in response to a question from Cllr Caswill, that he was not aware of an alternative minute regarding the Middlefields item discussed at the last Cabinet Capital Assets Committee meeting.

There being no further questions, the meeting;

Resolved:

That the minutes of the circulated Minutes Book be received and noted.

Please note that Councillors are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the first page of this agenda (acting on behalf of the Corporate Director) not later than 5pm on 22 September 2015 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.

The Chairman reported receipt of questions from Councillors Jon Hubbard and Chris Caswill, the details of which were circulated in Agenda Supplement No. 1 together with responses where available from the relevant Cabinet member.

Questioners were permitted to each ask one relevant supplementary question per question submitted and where they did so, the relevant Cabinet member responded.

Question ref: 15/03 - Cllr Sturgis stated, in response to a supplementary question from Cllr Caswill, that the Destination of Trips (DOT) figures were used to check the soundness of the models.

Question ref: 15/04 - Cllr Sturgis stated, in response to a supplementary question from Cllr Caswill, that the response made reference to the fact that the modelling assumptions would be made available upon request.

Question ref: 15/05 - Cllr Whitehead stated, in response to a supplementary question from Cllr Caswill, that the modelling assumptions were amended depending on the nature and the traffic characteristics of the town.

Question ref: 15/08 - Cllr Sturgis stated, in response to a supplementary question from Cllr Caswill, that the Environment Agency set out what data was required and that the Council would check that the developer had provided the right data.

Question ref: 15/09 - Cllr Sturgis stated, in response to a supplementary question from Cllr Caswill, that the Environment Agency was responsible for the statement in relation to flooding.

A copy of the questions and responses is attached as an appendix to these minutes.