Democracy | Council – 16 July 2013

Council – 16 July 2013

Present

THE MAYOR – Councillor Peter Clark

Councillors Ali, Allcock, Armitage, Bainbridge, Barker, J Briggs, Mrs Bromby, Bunyan, Carlile, Clark, Collinson, Davison, Eckhardt, Ellerby, England, Evison, L Foster, T Foster, Glover, Godfrey, Gosling, Grant, Jawaid, Kataria, Marper, Ogg, Oldfield, O’Sullivan, Poole, Mrs Redfern, Robinson, Rowson, C Sherwood, N Sherwood, Swift, K Vickers, P Vickers, Waltham, Wardle Wells, Whiteley and Wilson.

The council met at the Civic Centre, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe.

2196 MAYOR’S REMARKS – The Mayor welcomed fellow councillors, officers and members of the public to the meeting. He referred to the absence of Councillor Kirk who was recovering well following his recent illness. The Mayor also reported that he had attended 58 events and commented on these and future events.

2197 DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS AND PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS – Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and personal or personal and prejudicial interests were indicated as follows –

Member	Subject/Minute
Councillor M Ali	Hackney Carriage Driver/Licence Holder South Humber Racial Equality Council – Trustee Crosby Community Association – Chair
Councillor J Briggs	Humberside Fire Authority – Member
Councillor J Collinson	School Governor
Councillor T Ellerby	South Humber Racial Equality Council – Vice Chair
Councillor J England	Humberside Police and Crime Panel – Member
Councillor T Foster	Humberside Police and Crime Panel – Member
Councillor T Gosling	Trade Union member
Councillor I Jawaid	South Humber Racial Equality Council – Chair
Councillor H Kataria	Hackney Carriage Driver/Licence Holder
Councillor Mrs E Redfern	North Lincolnshire Homes – Member
Councillor D Robinson	Board of Governors – Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust
Councillor C Sherwood	North Lincolnshire Homes – Member
Councillor P Vickers	Humberside Fire Authority – Member
Councillor R Waltham	Humberside Fire Authority – Member North Lincolnshire Homes – Member Scunthorpe and District Citizens Advice Bureau
Councillor Whiteley	School Governor

2198 MINUTES – Resolved– That the minutes of the ordinary meetings held on 27 November 2012 and 19 February 2013, the extraordinary meetings held on 19 February and 3 June, 2013, the special meeting held on 3 June 2013 and the annual meeting of the council held on 14 May 2013, having been printed and circulated amongst the members be taken as read and correctly recorded and be signed by the Mayor.

2199 (6) INDIVIDUAL ELECTORAL REGISTRATION – AN UPDATE- The Chief Executive submitted a report informing council of changes which would be made to the Electoral Registration system when Individual Electoral Registration (IER) was introduced nationally in July 2014.

The report explained thatin 2010, the coalition government announced its intention to implement Individual Electoral Registration (IER). On 31 January 2013, the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 received Royal Assent. This Act and subsequent future secondary legislation would pave the way for the introduction of IER from 1 July 2014.

From the summer of 2014 the Returning Officer and his staff would be required to begin the transition from the current rolling and household registration system to IER. This would be the most significant change to the Electoral Registration system for many years. The changes were aimed at modernising and improving the system, creating one as a better protection against fraud and that would be more convenient for citizens to register to vote. IER was being overseen by the Cabinet Office working with the Electoral Commission who would provide guidance and support for all local authorities. It would affect 46m electors, 380 local authorities and would have a total budget of £108m.

The Chief Executive in his report provided members with a summary of the following –

The Current Registration System;
The IER Registration System;
Preparation for the changes in North Lincolnshire, and
Implications for electoral canvass 2013, staffing and required procedures.

Resolved – (a) That the proposed introduction and implementation of Individual Electoral Registration be noted, and (b) that further progress reports be submitted as the introduction and implementation of IER develops.

2200 (7) TREASURY MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY -ANNUAL REPORT – The Director of Policy and Resources submitted a report on the council’s treasury performance in 2012/13. The benchmark for measuring performance was measured against the Treasury Strategy set by the council at its meeting on 21 February 2012.

The report explained that each year the council approved a treasury management and investment strategy which was prepared in line with –

The CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy);Code of Practice for Treasury Management April 2009;
The Prudential Code;
The Local Government Finance Act 2003, and
Guidance on Local Government Investments from the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG).

The code of practice required that the council received a report on treasury management strategy at the start of the financial year, at mid year and at year end. The Audit Committee received progress reports at each meeting for assurance that treasury arrangements were working effectively, and an annual report on the outturn position.

The Code alsorequired the Council to maintain suitable Treasury Management Practices (TMPs), setting out the manner in which the organisation would seek to achieve its Treasury Management policies and objectives, and prescribing how it would manage and control those activities. As part of this ongoing process the Treasury Management Practices adopted by the council needed to be reviewed on a regular basis.

The Director in his report outlined the annual strategy under headings which covered – the Strategy for 2012/13, the Investment Strategy; the Borrowing Strategy, and How the Council Performed, including key investment and borrowing statistics and associated arrangements indicating how the council had performed against the strategy. He also suggested changes that were now needed to TMP’s to bring the policies up-to-date. The reasons were to reflect the treasury strategy approved in February 2013, changes to best practice guidance through CIPFA Treasury Code, and to officer responsibilities following recent restructures. TMPs provided operational guidance for the treasury team. They translated the approved treasury strategy into practice and were kept under review by the Section 151 officer, the Director of Policy Resources. It was proposed that the Section 151 (s151) officer made the current required changes and future changes when they were required, reporting to Council and Audit Committee at the next opportunity in the reporting cycle.

The report also gave the up to date position as regards to the council’s investment with two Icelandic owned institutions, Landsbanki and Heritable, and informed the committee that in accordance with the council’s Contract Procurement Rules, the council’s banking services had been opened up to the market place and Barclays had been successful with their tender. They officially had taken over from NatWest Bank in December 2012.

Resolved – (a) That Treasury Management’s performance for the 2012/13 financial year be noted, and (b) that the Director of Policy and Resources as s151 officer, revise TMPs as necessary, reporting to Council and Audit Committee at the next opportunity in the reporting cycle.

2201 (8) STANDARDS COMMITTEE – ANNUAL REPORT 2011/2012 – The Director of Policy and Resources submitted a report which requested council receive the Annual Report of the Standards Committee under the previous statutory regime for the period May 2011 to June 2012.

The report explained that the Localism Act 2011 saw the wide-spread revision of the previous statutory Standards regime including the abolition of Standards for England and much of the supporting legislative framework. The Council’s new Standards regime came into force on 1 July 2012. The annual report attached as an appendix detailed the work and activities of the Standards Committee under the previous statutory regime until its end on 30 June 2012. The report was presented to Council in accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Annual Governance Statement.

The first annual report of the work and activities of the Standards Committee under the new regime would be presented to the Standards Committee for approval on 17 July 2013 and for subsequent receipt by Council.

Resolved – (a) That the annual report of the Standards Committee for 2011/2012 be received, and (b) that the committee be congratulated on the work carried out.

2202 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT (LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 – SECTION 85) – The Chief Executive reported orally on the continuing absence of Councillor Kirk who continued to make steady progress, and explained that pursuant to Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972, council’s assent was sought for Councillor Kirk’s continued absence from meetings of the council due to his current ill health.

The Mayor was requested to seek council’s agreement of the above proposal.

Resolved – That the above proposal as explained in the Chief Executive’s oral report, be approved.

2203 PLANNING COMMITTEE – Resolved– That the minutes of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 14 November, 12 December 2012, 16 January, 13 February, 21 March, 10 April, 8 May and 5 June 2013 be received, approved and adopted with the exception of minutes 1485 (iii), 1485 (viii), 1489 (ii), 1499 (i), 1512, 1518, 1523 (iii), and 1524 (iii).

2204 APPLICATION 2012/0960– With regard to excepted portion (a) it was –