Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council House, Plymouth

Contact: Jamie Sheldon  Senior Governance Advisor

Media

Items
No. Item

Procedural Motion

The Lord Mayor proposed a procedural motion to vary the order of business to move the motion on notice 12.b to the beginning of the agenda, this will come after declarations of interest / announcements before returning to the agenda as set out.

 

The Deputy Lord Mayor seconded the motion.

 

Following a vote Council agreed to vary the order of business.

 

For (50)

Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Deacon, Derrick, Downie, Drean, Evans OBE, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Laing, Loveridge, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

 

Against (1)

 

Councillor Nicholson

 

Abstention (1)

 

Councillor Kelly

 

Absent/Did not vote

 

Councillor Neil, Jordan, Tuffin, James and Cresswell

 

Additional documents:

43.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 172 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2022 as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Council agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2022 are confirmed as a correct record.

44.

Declarations of Interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ross Jago (Head of Governance, Performance and Risk) advised that the Monitoring Officer had issued a dispensation for all Councillors, in relation to the Motion on Notice 12b.

 

There were no declarations of interest made by Councillors, in accordance with the code of conduct.

 

Councillor Patrick Nicholson raised a point of order to seek clarification as to the rationale behind issuing a dispensation for a Councillor to occupy a Council position.

 

Ross Jago (Head of Governance, Performance and Risk) advised that given the unusual nature of the motion before Council, the Monitoring Officer had considered that to ensure clarity for all Councillors on this issue, a dispensation would be issued so there would be no requirement to declare an interest.

 

Councillor Patrick Nicholson raised a point of order that this dispensation would set a precedent that whenever Councillors were nominated to Council positions, a dispensation would need to be given by the Monitoring Officer on each occasion.

 

Ross Jago (Head of Governance, Performance and Risk) advised that this matter had been discussed with the Monitoring Officer and it was the intention in the future to look to provide a standing dispensation for appointments to committees, cabinet and Leader.  The blanket dispensation would apply which would be published at the beginning of the new municipal year, prior to the Annual General Meeting.

 

Councillor Nicholson raised a further point of order that given the Council had numerous Monitoring Officers over the years, this was the first time that this issue had arisen and asked the Lord Mayor and the Chief Executive to seek a second legal opinion on this process.

 

The Lord Mayor sought clarification as to whether information from the Monitoring Officer was required at this meeting, and if so, the meeting would be adjourned to facilitate this request.

 

Councillor Patrick Nicholson advised that he did not wish to delay this meeting. However, he did not accept the need for a dispensation, as he considered that it was important not to set a precedent that would mean more council tax payers money being wasted on similar actions in the future.

 

Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) advised that this was a very unusual situation. She was confident that she could speak on behalf of the Monitoring Officer, that a discussion on this issue would be held with the Audit and Governance Sub Committee.  The Monitoring Officer had been very clear that for the purpose of this meeting a dispensation was required. Whilst this course of action had not previously been undertaken, the Council did have a new Monitoring Officer, who would be happy to discuss any concerns Councillors may have.

 

45.

Motion of No Confidence in the Leader and Election of New Leader pdf icon PDF 93 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE introduced the motion on notice on no confidence in the Leader and election of a new Leader.  This was seconded by Councillor Sue Dann.

 

Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors Patrick Nicholson, Mrs Vivienne Pengelly, Mark Deacon, John Riley, Bill Steven, Dave Downie, Chaz Singh, Kevin Neil, Jemima Laing, Nick Kelly and George Wheeler.

 

Council agreed -

1.    to remove Councillor Nick Kelly from the position of Leader;

2.    to elect a new leader at this meeting (21/03/22), subject to this motion being agreed, nominations to be proposed and seconded from the floor.  

 

For (29)

 

Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Dr Buchan, Churchill, Coker,  Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Derrick, Evans OBE, Goslin, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Laing, Lowry, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Penberthy, Rennie, Stevens, Vincent, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

 

Against (23)

 

Councillors Mrs Beer, Bingley, Mrs Bridgeman, Carlyle, Deacon, Downie, Drean, Harrison, Kelly, Loveridge, Dr Mahony, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Mrs Pengelly, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stoneman, Wakeham and Wheeler.

 

Abstain (1) Councillor Shannon Burden

 

Councillor Patrick Nicholson raised a point of order that he had emailed the Monitoring Officer this morning, following the receipt of the advice circulated on the process for seeking nominations for the Leader but had not received a response.  This was in relation to where did the guidance set out in the email conform to the constitution.  He had not experienced multi nominations simultaneously rather than taking nominations sequentially and why the Monitoring Officer had sought not to respond to this email.

 

Ross Jago (Head of Governance, Performance and Risk) stated that officers had been advised that it was likely that there would be more than one nomination.  With that understanding 4.18.4 of the constitution was being used  ‘voting on appointments - if there are three or more candidates for a position and none has more than half of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated and a new vote taken, this will continue until one candidate has more than half the votes’. That was in respect of three or more candidates, if there were less candidates voting process would be different, as set out by the Monitoring Officer.

 

Councillor Patrick Nicholson advised that in relation to the constitution, councillors did not have a view, as outlined, of knowing whether there would be more than one or two nominations and therefore the Council should determine how to decide to proceed. He queried why nominations were not being taken as they were nominated, as why the Council should be precluded to three if none of them were successful.

 

Ross Jago (Head of Governance, Performance and Risk) advised that this situation had not arisen before in the Council and that officers had been a pragmatic as they could be.

 

Councillor Patrick Nicholson raised a point of order, that the recommendation was from officers and was not necessarily how the Council should determine how it moved forward, as again a precedent was being set on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Recorded Vote
TitleTypeRecorded Vote textResult
Motion of No confidence in the Leader and Election of New Leader Resolution Carried
  • View Recorded Vote for this item
  • 46.

    Appointments to Committees, Outside Bodies etc pdf icon PDF 740 KB

    The Assistant Chief Executive will submit a schedule of vacancies on committees, outside bodies etc and of changes notified to us.  

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Mrs Terri Beer (Lord Mayor) introduced the political proportionality report. This was seconded by Councillor Mrs Maddi Bridgeman (Deputy Lord Mayor).

     

    The Council approved the changes to committee membership, set out at Appendix A of the report, following changes in the political proportionality of the Council.

     

    For (49)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Mrs Beer, Bingley, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present (4) Councillors Dr Cree, Deacon, Downie and Loveridge.

    47.

    Announcements

    (a)        To receive announcements from the Lord Mayor, Chief Executive, Service Director for Finance or Head of Legal Services;

     

    (b)        To receive announcements from the Leader, Cabinet Members or Committee Chairs.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Lord Mayor made the following announcements to Members –

     

    (a)

    she took this opportunity to with the best of luck for those councillors standing in the forthcoming Elections and would also like to recognise those Councillors who were retiring from service –

     

    Councillors Dr Pam Buchan, Margaret Corvid, Derrick and James;

     

     

    (b)

    she extended her personal thanks and thanks on behalf of the Council for the many years of service they had all given; in that time they had made a vast contribution to the Council, communities and the City of Plymouth.

     

    Councillor Tudor Evans OBE wished to pay tribute to –

     

    (c)

    the following Councillors who were retiring from the Council, Councillors Margaret Covid,  Dr Pam Buchan, Gareth Derrick and Jonny Morris and thanked them for their service to the city and the Labour Party;

     

     

    (d)

    Councillor Ian Bowyer; when he first came onto the Council he had been quite disruptive and had led a change movement but now he had become more of an elder states person; he wished to thank him for his cross party working, as well as his leadership of the Council in tough times and under difficult circumstances; they managed to work together on the important issues for the city which they felt strongly about such as co-designing The Box; that was the depth of trust they had in each other and their determination for Plymouth; there were also many other achievements;

     

     

    (e)

    Councillor Kevin Neil who had been through some challenging health issues and thanked him for his service to the Stoke Ward and also the City Council; he also thanked Councillor Mrs Johnson for her services to the Compton Ward.

     

    Councillor Patrick Nicholson took this opportunity to pay tribute to Councillor David James who had served this authority for 25 years.  Councillor David James had indeed worked hard for the authority and tirelessly for the people of Plymouth and in his role as chief scrutineer.  He thanked him for his service as a Councillor, Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor and wished him a happy retirement.

     

    Councillor Bingley (Leader of the Council) made the following announcements to Council –

     

    (f)

    wished to record his thanks for all those Councillors that took part in the earlier debate, whilst it had been turbulent it was also cathartic;

     

     

    (g)

    it was a privilege to be the Leader of this Council and serving this wonderful city sandwiched between Dartmoor and the ocean; when he first came down to study, he definitely left his heart in Plymouth;

     

     

    (h)

    he considered that Councillor Nick Kelly’s passion as Council Leader over the past 10 months had demonstrated how much all Councillors cared about the city and how they wished to drive it forward;

     

     

    (i)

    he emphasised stability over the next few weeks; the line of business that had been planned before the pre-election period which had already been debated and agreed by Council, would absolutely take place; moving forward, he would lead the Council based on the Nolan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

    48.

    Questions by the Public

    To receive questions from and provide answers to the public in relation to matters which are about something the council is responsible for or something that directly affects people in the city, in accordance with Part B, paragraph 11 of the Constitution.

     

    Questions, of no longer than 50 words, can be submitted to the Democratic Support Unit, Plymouth City Council, Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five complete working days before the meeting.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    There were three questions submitted by members of the public.

     

    The following question was submitted by Mr M Surtees and answered by Councillor Richard Bingley (Leader of the Council) -

     

    Question: Can you please tell us what happened to the money that was allocated to St Budeaux for their public toilets and can you please explain why this money has gone? Can you then explain how there now is money for Mutley Plain to get a face-lift

    Answer: The Community Grant Funding of £10,800 from three ward councillors has not been lost, the money has been held in Council reserves ready for drawdown once the additional funding can be secured.

     

    Building new public toilets is expensive and the councillor contributions did not cover the full cost of the works.

     

    Unfortunately the contributions were made before a business case had been agreed and without the administration then in control allocating funding in the capital programme to cover the additional costs.

     

    A subsequent business case showed the fees needed to cover the additional costs would have been 40 pence per use. This was rejected on the grounds that it would be unfair to charge residents in St Budeaux double the cost of using other public conveniences in the city.

     

    Alternative options are being developed now the 2022/23 budget has been approved. In the meantime, the councillor contributions from their community grants remain available for this use.

     

    Mutley Plain has been funded from the Government’s ERDF Welcome Back Fund. This fund has been given to councils across England to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic.

     

    the following question was submitted by Ms Karen Hagerty and answered by Councillor Richard Bingley (Leader of the Council) -

    Question: We looked at the PCC website section 'How my council tax is spent'. The information there and on our council tax bills is insufficiently clear.

     

    Where it states 'Plymouth City Council' could you detail what Plymouth City Council is spending that portion of our council tax on please?

     

     

    Response: please refer to the response below.

    A

    B

    C

    D

    E

    F

    G

    H

    Plymouth City Council Bands

    £1,113.25

    £1,298.80

    £1,484.34

    £1,669.88

    £2,040.96

    £2,412.05

    £2,783.13

    £3,339.76

    Caring For Adults

    £467.56

    £545.49

    £623.43

    £701.34

    £857.19

    £1,013.08

    £1,168.92

    £1,402.69

    Helping Children & Young People

    £289.45

    £337.69

    £385.93

    £434.17

    £530.65

    £627.13

    £723.61

    £868.34

    Planning and Building New homes

    £11.13

    £12.99

    £14.84

    £16.70

    £20.41

    £24.12

    £27.83

    £33.40

    Collecting Rubbish and Recycling, Looking after our green spaces

    £77.93

    £90.92

    £103.90

    £116.89

    £142.87

    £168.84

    £194.82

    £233.78

    Fixing and Maintaining roads, street lighting and on public transport

    £44.53

    £51.95

    £59.37

    £66.80

    £81.64

    £96.48

    £111.33

    £133.59

    Culture, Leisure and Economic Development

    £22.27

    £25.98

    £29.69

    £33.40

    £40.82

    £48.24

    £55.66

    £66.80

    Running the council and holding elections

    £100.19

    £116.89

    £133.59

    £150.29

    £183.69

    £217.08

    £250.48

    £300.58

    Helping people keep well and stay healthy

    £89.06

    £103.90

    £118.75

    £133.59

    £163.28

    £192.96

    £222.65

    £267.18

    To run libraries, registration services and maintaining trading standards

    £11.13

    £12.99

    £14.84

    £16.70

    £20.41

    £24.12

    £27.83

    £33.40

     

    the following  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

    49.

    Public Consultation regarding the Council's Electoral Cycle pdf icon PDF 156 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor John Riley (Cabinet Member for Governance, HR, IT and Community Safety) introduced the Public Consultation regarding the Council’s Electoral Cycle. This was seconded by Councillor Nick Kelly.

     

    Councillor Sue Dann advised that under the rules of debate she would like to move that this report was referred to the Audit and Governance Committee to enable for a full cross party discussion with any resulting proposals reported back to Council in the new municipal year.

     

    Councillor Sue Dann proposed and Councillor Bill Stevens seconded the proposal.

     

    Following a discussion, with contribution from Councillors Tudor Evans, OBE, Patrick Nicholson, Chaz Singh, George Wheeler, Richard Bingley, Chris Penberthy, Nigel Churchill, Kevin Neil and Dr John Mahony.

     

    Vote on the amendment

     

    For (45)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham and Ms Watkin.

     

    Against (3) Councillors Kelly, Nicholson and Wheeler.

     

    Abstain/not present (4) Lord Mayor, Councillors Deacon, Downie and Loveridge.

     

    The amendment was carried.

     

    Following a discussion the Council agreed that –

     

    (1)

    Council resolves to undertake a public engagement consultation using its powers under Section 116 of the Local Government Act 2003 between June and August 2022 on the issue of moving from the current electoral cycle of elections to ‘whole council’ elections once every four years;

     

     

    (2)

    Council delegates to the Audit and Governance Committee approval of the planned implementation of the consultation, in particular who will be consulted/engaged with and how.

    this report was referred to the Audit and Governance Committee to enable for a full cross party discussion with any resulting proposals reported back to Council in the new municipal year.

     

    Vote on substantive

     

    For (49)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present (4) Lord Mayor, Councillors Deacon, Downie and Loveridge.

     

     

    50.

    Taxi Licensing Policy pdf icon PDF 800 KB

    Due to the significant amount of background material in support of this paper, it has not been published as part of the agenda, the following papers are available at this link

     

    ·         Appendix B Online Survey Comments

    ·         Appendix C Table of Responses

    ·         CCTV Guidance

    ·         Code of Good Conduct 2022

    ·         Guidance on relevance of convictions and conduct 2022

    ·         Hackney Carriage Advertising Policy 2022

    ·         Hackney Carriage Vehicle Conditions

    ·         Hackney Carriage Vehicle Specifications

    ·         Private Hire Driver Conditions 2022

    ·         Private Hire Operator Conditions 2022

    ·         Private Hire Special Events Vehicle Conditions 2022

    ·         Private Hire Special Events Vehicle Specifications 2022

    ·         Spoken English Assessment Test Procedure

    ·         Vehicle Emissions Policy

    ·         Wheelchair and Assistance Dogs Exemption Guidelines 2022

     

    Any recommendations resulting from consideration at scrutiny will be published as a “to follow”.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor John Riley (Cabinet Member for Governance, HR, IT and Community Safety) introduced the Public Consultation regarding the Council’s Electoral Cycle. This was seconded by Councillor Richard Bingley.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors Eddie Rennie, Chris Penberthy and Mrs Mary Aspinall, the Council agreed to –

     

    (1)

    adopt the new Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy attached as Appendix D of this report with effect from 1 May 2022;

     

     

    (2)

    adopt the updated conditions and guidance documents attached at Appendix E of this report with effect from 1 May 2022.

     

    For (49)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present Councillors Mrs Beer, Deacon, Downie and Loveridge.

     

    51.

    Scrutiny Annual Report pdf icon PDF 166 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Chris Penberthy introduced the Scrutiny Annual Report. This was seconded by Councillor Richard Bingley.

     

    Councillor Chris Penberthy took this opportunity to thank Councillor David James for his invaluable contribution to the scrutiny process over many years for the benefit of the City Council.

     

    Councillor Chris Penberthy also took this opportunity to thank all those involved in the scrutiny process during the municipal year 2021/22.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors Mrs Mary Aspinall and Jemima Laing, the City Council noted the Scrutiny Annual Report 2021/2022.

    52.

    Lord Mayoralty 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 151 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Mrs Aspinall (Chair of the Lord Mayor Selection Committee) introduced the Lord Mayoralty 2022/23 report.  This was seconded by Councillor John Riley.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors John Riley and Brian Vincent, the Council agreed to approve the recommendation from the Lord Mayor Selection Committee to appoint Councillor Sue Dann as Lord Mayor for 2022/23.

     

    For (48)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Mrs Beer, Bingley, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present (5) Councillors Deacon, Downie, Kelly, Loveridge and Nicholson.

    53.

    Revisions to the Members' Code of Conduct pdf icon PDF 397 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Dr John Mahony (Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee) introduced the revisions to the Members’ Code of Conduct. This was seconded by Councillor Mark Lowry.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors James Stoneman and Chaz Singh, the Council agreed to approve the appended Code of Conduct.

     

    For (47)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present (6) Councillors Mrs Beer, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Deacon, Downie and Loveridge.

    MOTIONS ON NOTICE

    Additional documents:

    54.

    Long Covid pdf icon PDF 113 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Dr Charlotte Cree introduced the motion on notice on Long Covid.  This was seconded by Councillor Dr Pam Buchan.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors Patrick Nicholson, Dann Collins, Rebecca Smith, Dr John Mahony, Richard Bingley and Mrs Mary Aspinall.

     

    This Council agrees: 

     

    The Leader to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ask them to:

     

    ·         Invest in research to find treatments for long COVID

    ·         Ensure access to long COVID clinics and services after routine COVID testing ceases The Leader to write to Dr Sarah Wollaston, Chair of the Integrated Care Partnership, asking her to ensure that the forthcoming Primary Care Strategy includes an action plan for long COVID and long-term conditions

    ·         To examine the local long COVID provision via the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee

     

    For (48)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Mrs Beer,  Bingley, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dr Cree, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present (5) Councillors Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Deacon, Downie and Loveridge.

    55.

    Ukraine pdf icon PDF 96 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Margaret Corvid introduced the cross party motion on notice on Ukraine.  This was seconded by Councillor Mrs Vivienne Pengelly.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors James Stoneman, Chris Penberthy, Mark Coker, Chaz Singh, Richard Bingley, Gareth Derrick and Tudor Evans OBE.

     

    Council agrees to -

     

    1.    suspend all twinning activities with our long-standing twin city of Novorossiysk, until such time as the Russian army has completely withdrawn from Ukraine. 

    2.    use the front page of the Council’s website to promote the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal and provide a list of local collection points for those wishing to give items needed in the relief effort.

    3.    begin the process of identifying an appropriate city in Ukraine to build a twinning relationship with.

     

    For (46)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Mrs Johnson, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present  (7) Councillors Mrs Beer, Dr Cree, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Deacon, Downie and Loveridge.

     

    56.

    Women’s Life Expectancy pdf icon PDF 98 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Mrs Mary Aspinall introduced the motion on notice on women’s life expectancy.  This was seconded by Councillor Sue McDonald.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors McDonald and Patrick Nicholson, Council agreed to ask the Director of Public Health to oversee an investigation of links between deprivation, long term conditions and women’s reduced life expectancy in Plymouth as compared with England and within 6 months make a report on their findings in the first instance to the Adult Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

     

    For (45)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present (8) Councillor Mrs Beer, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Dr Cree, Deacon, Downie, Mrs Johnson and Loveridge.

     

    57.

    £150 Government Council Tax Rebate pdf icon PDF 112 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Councillor Chris Penberthy introduced the motion on notice on £150 Council Tax rebate.  This was seconded by Councillor Tudor Evans OBE.

     

    Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors Nick Kelly, Rebecca Smith, George Wheeler and Richard Bingley.

     

    Council agreed that the Leader writes to the Chancellor and the Minister for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities requesting that the Government:

     

    ·         provide information about the level of funding that will be made available to administer this work

    ·         provide further guidance on the discretionary element in order for there to be some consistency in approach and not a postcode lottery

    ·         request that energy companies provide information to councils about customers using key meters, PayPoint or who are regularly in arrears as these are likely to be more vulnerable residents who should be prioritised

     

    For (45)

     

    Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Bingley, Mrs Bridgeman, Dr Buchan, Burden, Carlyle, Churchill, Coker, Collins, Corvid, Dann, Derrick, Drean, Evans OBE, Goslin, Harrison, Haydon, Hendy, Hulme, Kelly, Laing, Lowry, Dr Mahony, McDonald, Morris, Murphy, Neil, Nicholson, Partridge, Patel, Penberthy, Mrs Pengelly, Rennie, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Singh, Smith, Stevens, Stoneman, Vincent, Wakeham, Ms Watkin and Wheeler.

     

    Against (0)

     

    Abstain/not present (8) Councillors Mrs Beer, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Dr Cree, Deacon, Downie, Mrs Johnson and Loveridge.

    58.

    Questions by Councillors

    Questions to the Leader, Cabinet Members and Committee Chairs covering aspects for their areas of responsibility or concern by councillors in accordance with Part B, paragraph 12 of the constitution.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

     

     

    From

    To

    Subject

    1

    Cllr Chaz Singh

    Cllr Richard Bingley

    Street naming and numbering. Will Sir John Hawkins Square signs be replaced?

     

    Response: A consultation was agreed to take place on Sir John Hawkins Square.  It is not the intention to change that position.

     

    2

    Cllr Jemima Laing 

    Cllr Richard Bingley

    Should Councillor Singh be removed as Chair of the Equalities working group following twitter activity?

    Response: If the allegation was true, this would be looked at in light of the code of conduct and Nolan principles.

    3

    Cllr Mary Aspinall 

    Cllr Richard Bingley

    Access to life centre facilities for disabled people, concerns over the lift being available for pool access.

     

    Response: This issue would be raised with the portfolio holder.

     

    4

    Cllr Sally Haydon

    Cllr Richard Bingley

    Funding for toilets in St Budeaux.  Ward Councillors have not been briefed.  Whilst the money has not been lost there could be other projects in the ward which could have been funded.

     

    Response: Very sympathetic to the issues in St Budeaux, there is an ongoing programme and the relevant portfolio holder will come back to you.  Leader would meet with the relevant ward councillors if required.

    5

    Cllr Jeremy Goslin

    Cllr Richard Bingley

    Would it be possible to receive a report to refurbishment of Pounds House?

     

    Response: Aware of the strong feeling in the ward concerning Pounds House.  I will provide a written response.

    6

    Cllr Chris Penberthy

    Cllr Mrs Pengelly

    Do you agree with me that families should not live in bed and breakfast

     

    Response: Briefings received by the portfolio holder would be shared. The numbers of Children in bed and breakfast were coming down.

    7

    Cllr Eddie Rennie

    Cllr Richard Bingley

    Would you apologise on behalf of the Council if Cllr Singh has been found to offend particular communities?

     

    Response: I believe that people should take responsibility for lapses in judgement.  I would ask the individual to apologise should allegations prove to be true.

     

    8

    Cllr Sue McDonald

    Cllr Bridgeman

    When will the Devils Point Pool would be refurbished?

     

     

    Response:  A survey has been undertaken of the pool, this has identified the need for further ecological work and surveys.

    9

    Cllr Dan Collins

    Cllr Richard Bingley

    Reflecting on the Falklands Veterans freedom of the city. Councillors who have served should also be recognised.

     

    Response: We need to make Plymouth the best place to live for veterans and thank all those involved in the conflict and subsequent peace.Councillors who have served, such as Glen Jordan, should be recognised.

    Please note that questions, answers, supplementary questions and supplementary answers have been summarised.

     

    Councillor Evans rose to thank the Lord Mayor for her stewardship of the Council meeting over the last twelve months.