Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council House, Plymouth

Contact: Ross Jago  Head of Governance, Performance and Risk

Items
No. Item

14.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 248 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings held on 29 January 2024, 8 March 2024, 18 March 2024, 17 May 2024 and the two meetings held on 24 June 2024, as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings held on 29 January 2024, 8 March 2024, 18 March 2024, 17 May 2024 and the two meetings held on 24 June 2024 were agreed as a correct record.

15.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

The following declarations of interest were made by councillors in accordance with the code of conduct in respect of items under consideration at the meeting -

 

Name

Item Number

Reason

Interest

Councillor Bill Stevens

16a

Employer referenced.

Private

 

 

(A general dispensation was offered to all members in respect to item 15- Independent Remuneration Panel)

16.

Appointments to Committees, Outside Bodies etc

The Monitoring Officer will submit a schedule of vacancies on committees, outside bodies etc and of changes notified to us.  

 

Minutes:

The Council agreed to note the changes to committees and outside bodies for September 2024.

17.

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.

Minutes:

There were 17 questions from the public.

 

The following question was submitted by Paula Boeira

Question: Vegan diets result in 75% less GHG emissions and land use than diets with 100g of meat daily. They cut wildlife destruction by 66% and water use 54%. Will Plymouth join 24 councils, including Edinburgh, Exmouth and Norwich by endorsing the Plant Based Treaty and developing a plant-based food strategy?

Response: Thank you for your question.

The City Council recognises that significant emissions are caused by current food production and consumption practices.

We are acting locally to raise awareness of this issue and in particular to promote nature recovery, consistent with many of the Plant Based Treaty's proposals. The Plymouth Sound National Marine Park is leading the way on marine citizenship. The Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest has seen thousands of new trees planted across the city. Poole Farm and our Green Community Hubs give people the chance to feel more connected with nature and to improve neighbourhoods for wildlife.

Through our latest Net Zero Action Plan, we have made a strong commitment to engaging with residents, businesses, and communities to promote a change in all our behaviours, which includes consumption and food habits. Our Climate Connections website includes messaging on how we can reduce the environmental impact of food and supports low carbon food projects.

One of the specific commitments in the Net Zero Action Plan is to “collaborate, as part of the Food Plymouth Partnership and network, on improving access to low carbon food choices and work towards achieving the Sustainable Food Places Gold award.” Cambridge, Bristol and Brighton are the only cities who have reached this prestigious level – which I hope offers some reassurance on how seriously we are taking food sustainability.

Our school meals company CATERED have also committed to exploring new approaches to promoting sustainable food choices, starting with a Veganuary initiative at the start of 2024.

Whilst I appreciate that an increasing number of people will need to transition to more plant-based diets as part of global efforts to tackle the climate emergency, behaviour change can be more compelling and long-term when individuals feel that they have made the choice for themselves.

The following question was submitted by Mr Kelly

Question: Cllr Evans do you support and agree with the Chancellor & the Prime Minister in removing the £300 Winter Fuel Allowance that will have a detrimental effect on thousands of pensioners living in Plymouth?

Response: We are committed to ensuring that the residents of Plymouth of pension age are economically stable and able to heat their homes effectively during the Winter.

But we know that people are missing out on benefits that they could be accessing to support them.

To this end we are supporting the Government’s campaign to ensure that everybody who is eligible gets support to access Pension Credit. This will also automatically passport them to receive the Winter Fuel Payment. The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £300 for households with someone aged 80  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

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.

Minutes:

The Lord Mayor made the following announcements:

 

a)     Plymouth City Council had been shortlisted for several Public Service Excellence Awards including Council of the Year, Best Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, Best Community and Neighbourhood Initiative, Best Climate Action Initiative, Best Service Team: Parks, Grounds and Horticultural Service.

 

Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) made the following announcements:

 

b)    Welcomed to the Plymouth City Council Karime Hassan (Interim Strategic Director for Growth), Temilola Salimon (Service Director for Children, Young People and Families)and Gary Wallbridge (Strategic Director Adults, Health and Communities, Adult SocialCare Retained Functions);

 

c)     Wished a happy retirement and bid farewell to Anthony Payne and GilesPerritt;

 

d)    Plymouth had been recognised as the most liveable city in the UK according to a recent study published in the Daily Telegraph;

 

e)     The £25 million Community Diagnostic centre at Colin Campbell Court had now started development and construction;

 

f)      The Derriford District Centre had initiated a “hand-over” of units to respective businesses including Aldi and Costa,

 

g)     £750,000 of “Shared Prosperity Projects” had been completed across the City;

 

h)    The largest ever contract granted in the city for Beaumont Way as part of the Free Port development had been granted;

 

i)      2,000 free sessions had been offered and the Mount Batton Centre had been selected to support the National Marine Park;

 

j)      The Brickfields Investment Case would be initiated at Christmas providing a £25 million investment into sports facilities in the City;

 

k)     Enhancements at Tinside Lido were currently underway;

 

l)      The ‘Innovation Centre’ at Oceans Gate and hotel work on Embankment Road would commence shortly;

 

m)   Demolition work around Tavistock place was to start, in order to facilitate development work during the forthcoming year;

 

n)    Centre-city housing discussions were to start taking place regarding the low quantity and density of residential use of the area.

 

Councillor Briars-Delve (Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change) made the following announcements:

 

o)    A new delivery approach for major heat networks had been signed off, this long term project was expected to attract £350 million of external green funding, 400 green jobs and save 30,000 tons of carbon annually;

 

Councillor Aspinall (Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care) made the following announcements:

 

p)    The International Day of Older People was to take place on 1October, which would provide opportunities for older people to meet new friends and acquaintances through way of various sports and activities;

 

q)    Caring Plymouth, the skills based project launched in the previous municipal year, would be having a relaunch and open days on 19  September and 4 October.

 

Councillor Cresswell (Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships) made the following announcement:

 

r)     Launchpad Live was to host a two-day careers event showcasing a range of opportunities on the 26th and 27th of September;

 

s)     The launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library had taken place;

 

t)     A grant of £1.246 million over a three year period to deliver  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

Provisional Capital and Revenue Outturn Report 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 344 KB

Minutes:

The report was introduced by Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) and seconded by Councillor Stephens (Chair of Scrutiny Management Board).

 

The Council agreed to note the report.

 

20.

Treasury Management Annual Report 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 424 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report was introduced by Councillor Lowry (Cabinet member for Finance) and seconded by Councillor Allen (Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee).

 

The Council agreed to:

 

1.   Approve the Treasury Management Annual Report 2023/2024.

For (47)

Councillors Allen, Allison, Aspinall, Bannerman, Mrs Beer, Blight, Briars-Delve, Mrs Bridgeman, Coker, Cuddihee, Dann, Darcy, Dingle, Evans OBE, Freeman, Gilmour, Goslin, Hendy, Holloway, Laing, Lawson, Loveridge, Lowry, Lugger, McCarty, McLay, McNamara, Moore, Morton, Murphy, Ney, Noble, Penberthy, Penrose, Poyser, Raynsford, Reilly, Ricketts, Simpson, M. Smith, R. Smith, Sproston, Steel, Stephens, Stevens, Tippetts, Ms Watkin and Wood.

 

Against (0)

 

Abstain (0)

 

Absent/ Did Not Vote (2)

Councillors Tofan and Tuohy.

 

(Councillor Tofan left the meeting from 3.00pm to 4.00pm)

21.

Capital Monitoring report Q1 pdf icon PDF 605 KB

Minutes:

The report was introduced by Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) and seconded by Councillor Mark Coker (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport).

 

The Council agreed to:

 

1.    Approve the revision to Capital Budget 2024-2029 to £360.488m, noting the removal of projects totalling £6.171m from the capital programme;

2.    Note Prudential Indicators Q1.

 

For (46)

Councillors Allen, Allison, Aspinall, Bannerman, Blight, Briars-Delve, Mrs Bridgeman, Coker, Cuddihee, Dann, Darcy, Dingle, Evans OBE, Freeman, Gilmour, Goslin, Hendy, Holloway, Laing, Lawson, Loveridge, Lowry, Lugger, McCarty, McLay, McNamara, Moore, Morton, Murphy, Ney, Noble, Penberthy, Penrose, Poyser, Raynsford, Reilly, Simpson, M. Smith, R. Smith, Sproston, Steel, Stephens, Stevens, Tippetts, Ms Watkin and Wood.

 

Against (0)

 

Abstain (2)

Councillors Mrs Beer and Ricketts.

 

Absent/Did Not Vote (2)

Councillors Tofan and Tuohy.

22.

Electoral Review Update 2024 pdf icon PDF 152 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report was introduced by Councillor Tudor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) and seconded by Councillor Allen (Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee).

 

After contributions from Councillor Lugger, the Council agreed to note the report.

23.

Polling Districts, Place and Stations Review pdf icon PDF 160 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report was introduced by Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) and Seconded by Councillor Allen (Chair of Scrutiny Management Board)

 

After contributions from Councillor Wood, the Council agreed to note the report.

24.

Constitutional Update pdf icon PDF 173 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The motion was introduced by Councillor Allen (Chair of Audit and Governance Committee) and seconded by Councillor Stevens.

 

That Council agreed to:

 

1.    Approve the following changes to the constitution effective from the 17 September 2024:

a.     Amended Part B, council procedure rules as set out in the appendices of the report;

b.    New Rules of Debate as set out in the appendices of the report.

 

For (42)

Councillors Allen, Allison, Aspinall, Bannerman, Blight, Briars-Delve, Coker, Cuddihee, Dann, Darcy, Dingle, Evans OBE, Freeman, Gilmour, Goslin, Hendy, Holloway, Laing, Lawson, Lowry, Lugger, McCarty, McNamara, Moore, Morton, Murphy, Ney, Noble, Penberthy, Penrose, Raynsford, Reilly, Simpson, M. Smith, R. Smith, Sproston, Steel, Stephens, Stevens, Tippetts, Ms Watkin and Wood.

 

Against (0)

 

Abstain (5)

Councillors Mrs Bridgeman, Loveridge, McLay, Poyser and Ricketts.

 

Absent/ Did Note Vote (3)

Councillors Mrs Beer, Tofan and Tuohy.

 

(Councillor Mrs Beer left the meeting during this item from 3.21pm to 3.25pm)

 

25.

Audit and Governance Chair’s Report pdf icon PDF 176 KB

Minutes:

The report was introduced by Councillor Allen (Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee) and seconded by Councillor Stevens.

 

The Council agreed to note the report.

26.

Scrutiny Annual Report pdf icon PDF 163 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report was introduced by Councillor Stephens (Chair of the Scrutiny Management Board) and seconded by Councillor Darcy (Vice-Chair of the Scrutiny Management Board).

 

The Council agreed to note the report.

27.

Independent Remuneration Panel pdf icon PDF 169 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The item was introduced by Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) and Seconded by Councillor Lugger (Leader of the Opposition).

 

After contributions from Councillor Mrs Beer the Council agreed the following changes recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel:

 

1.    The Chair of the Scrutiny Management Board should receive a Special Responsibility Allowance equal to that of the current Scrutiny Panel Chairs. This allowance will be backdated to May 2024, when the current Chair took on the role;

 

2.    No further changes to the Special Responsibility Allowance for Vice Chairs at this time;

 

3.    The Panel was to be convened to review allowances for scrutiny again in 12 months to gather more information on how the new structure is working;

 

4.    The Panel noted the cross-party approach to the review of the parental leave policy and observed that such a policy is already in place in many councils across the country. The Panel recommends that the council adopts the model scheme;

 

5.    That a provision to enable Councillors to forgo their allowances is added to the Members’ allowance scheme.

 

For (43)

Councillors Allen, Allison, Aspinall, Bannerman, Blight, Briars-Delve, Mrs Bridgeman, Coker, Cuddihee, Dann, Darcy, Dingle, Evans OBE, Freeman, Gilmour, Goslin, Hendy, Holloway, Laing, Lawson, Lowry, Lugger, McCarty, McLay, McNamara, Moore, Morton, Murphy, Ney, Noble, Penberthy, Poyser, Raynsford, Reilly, Simpson, M. Smith, R. Smith, Sproston, Steel, Stephens, Stevens, Tippetts and Wood.

 

Against (0)

 

Abstain (3)

Councillors Mrs Beer, Loveridge and Ricketts.

 

Absent/ Did Not Vote (4)

Councillors Penrose, Tofan, Tuohy and Ms Watkin.

 

28.

Motions on notice

To consider motions from councillors in accordance with Part B, paragraph 14 of the Constitution.

29.

Motion on Notice - Community Cohesion pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Minutes:

The motion was introduced by Councillor Steel and seconded by Councillor Blight.

 

Following contributions from Councillors Reilly, Lawson, Stevens and Penberthy, the Council agreed that:

 

1.     The Leader writes to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, to call for a more robust counter–extremism strategy to identify and address the drivers of violence. This should encompass digital literacy, social cohesion and resilience building and also ensure that local authorities have dedicated resourcing to drive more localised responses to extremism and viral mis- and disinformation.  

 

2.     The Chief Executive writes to the Home Office requesting direct annual funding for Plymouth’s Community Safety Partnership from their Prevent Fund. This would enable the Partnership to have dedicated resources to roll out the annual recommendations set out in the Counter Terrorism Local Profile. It would also enable them to work within targeted communities to identify those susceptible to radicalisation and provide early interventions to identify vulnerable groups.  

 

3.     The Leader and Chief Executive continue their proactive engagement with the government to request support for the Council and our partners through the ongoing recovery work needed as a result of the events of the 5th August 2024 and to make clear to government that this is done with the full backing of the Council.

 

4.     The Democratic Support Team ensures that all members are provided with a link to the online LGA Equalities and Diversity Training module. Further to this, that Group Leaders/Whips provide the Democratic Support Team with a list of members who have undertaken this training in order that the Chief Executive can report back on members undertaking this training to the next meeting of the Council. 

 

5.     The Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships writes to all Plymouth schools stressing the importance of the new Plymouth Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education being used in all local schools as a foundation to promote knowledge and understanding of different communities and encourage the values of respect, tolerance, and the willingness to learn from others. 

 

For (49)

Councillors Allen, Allison, Aspinall, Bannerman, Mrs Beer, Blight, Briars-Delve, Mrs Bridgeman, Coker, Cuddihee, Dann, Darcy, Dingle, Evans OBE, Freeman, Gilmour, Goslin, Hendy, Holloway, Laing, Lawson, Loveridge, Lowry, Lugger, McCarty, McLay, McNamara, Moore, Morton, Murphy, Ney, Noble, Penberthy, Penrose, Poyser, Raynsford, Reilly, Ricketts, Simpson, M. Smith, R. Smith, Sproston, Steel, Stephens, Stevens, Tippetts, Tofan, Ms Watkin and Wood.

 

Against (0)

 

Abstain (0)

 

Absent/ Did Not Vote (1)

Councillor Tuohy.

 

 

 

30.

Motion on Notice - Plymouth Pensioners pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Minutes:

The motion was introduced by Councillor Lugger (Leader of the Opposition) and seconded by Councillor Darcy.

 

Councillor Penberthy proposed an amendment to the motion, seconded by Councillor Evans OBE.

 

After contributions speaking to the amendment from Councillors Lugger, Mrs Beer, Wood and Smith, the amendment was passed.

 

For (43)

Councillors Allen, Allison, Aspinall, Bannerman, Blight, Briars-Delve, Coker, Cuddihee, Dann, Darcy, Dingle, Evans OBE, Freeman, Gilmour, Goslin, Hendy, Holloway, Laing, Lawson, Lowry, Lugger, McCarty, McLay, McNamara, Moore, Morton, Murphy, Ney, Noble, Penberthy, Penrose, Raynsford, Reilly, Simpson, M. Smith, R. Smith, Sproston, Steel, Stephens, Stevens, Tippetts, Tofan, Ms Watkin and Wood.

 

Against (3)

Councillors Mrs Beer, McLay, Poyser

 

Abstain (3)

Councillors Mrs Bridgeman, Loveridge, Ricketts.

 

Absent/Did Not Vote (1)

Councillors Tuohy.

 

Following contributions from Councillors Smith, Darcy, Evans OBE and Loveridge, the Council agreed that-

 

1.      The Cabinet Member for Housing, Co-operative Development and Communities was to consider the impact of changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance when designing the recently announced Household Support Fund October 2024-March 2025. 

 

2.      The Cabinet Member for Housing Co-operative Development and Communities was to consider the issue of pensioner poverty as he develops the detail of Building Bridges to Opportunity. 

 

3.      The Chief Executive would write to theDepartment of Work and Pensions to investigate alternative ways of alleviating fuel poverty for those Plymouth pensioners so affected. 

 

 

For (48)

Councillors Allen, Allison, Aspinall, Bannerman, Mrs Beer, Blight, Briars-Delve, Mrs Bridgeman, Coker, Cuddihee, Dann, Darcy, Dingle, Evans OBE, Freeman, Gilmour, Goslin, Hendy, Holloway, Laing, Lawson, Loveridge, Lowry, Lugger, McCarty, McLay, McNamara, Moore, Morton, Murphy, Ney, Noble, Penberthy, Poyser, Raynsford, Reilly, Ricketts, Simpson, M. Smith, R. Smith, Sproston, Steel, Stephens, Stevens, Tippetts, Tofan, Ms Watkin and Wood.

 

Against

 

Abstain

 

Absent/ Did Not Vote (2)

Councillors Penrose and Tuohy

31.

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.

Minutes:

From (Cllr)

To

(Cllr)

Subject

1

Blight

Coker

A petition had been received requesting a review of half-hourly provision of Bus Number 28. Was this going to be looked into?

Response: Councillor Sproston (Bus Champion) had been tasked with facilitating a meeting with the Public Transport team and with City Bus.

2

Ricketts

Coker

A wall and pathway on Central park Avenue remained in a dangerous state of disrepair and a resident had been injured in the area.

Response: There had been movement on this, and it would appear the repair should commence on the week commencing 23 September 2024. 

Supplementary: Would correspondence be made directly to the complainant and resident?

Response: Yes.

3

Beer

Briars-Delve

It had been reported that the hedges in and around Plympton were at least a metre thick in parts and encroaching on the public highway. Would this be looked into?

Response: As the cutback for hedges is in the fast-approaching Autumn, the hedges would be cut back shortly.

4

M. Smith

Coker

The crossing in which Mutley Plain meets North Hill remained without a sequence of traffic lights and emails had been received to Ward Councillors indicating the danger of the crossing. What was being done in order to rectify this?

Response: The Highways Team had previously been tasked to find a solution to the issue, looking into funding options which could be sourced externally.

5

Raynsford

Evans OBE

Concerning the recent myriad of events operated on the Hoe- what benefit did these bring to the City?

Response: Tens of thousands of people had attended events on the Hoe in 2024, which had included some of the most popular musical acts in the world. The facilitation of the event included hundreds of Plymouth residents, providing jobs for the local economy. During the National Fireworks championship, foster caring was advertised to the over 100,000 people in the audience and across social media engagement was reached with 548,000 people. 41,500 people tuned into the lived stream. It has been estimated that this event was worth over £9 million to the local economy. 

6

Allison

Laing

When was work was due to begin on the Frederick Street Youth Centre in Stonehouse amongst others?

Response: Both Frederick Street Youth Centre and Honicknowle Youth and Community Centre had recently been awarded £4 million pounds; £2.4 million from the Youth Investment Fund, £600,000 from the Capital fund and an additional £1 million pounds from the Emergency Climate Investment funding. In August, the contract was awarded and the date of the 23rd September has been scheduled for the commencement of works. 

7

Ricketts

Penberthy

Angela Rayner had recently said that “every town and city in this country will take their fair share of illegal immigrants” what was Plymouth’s fair share?

Response: Plymouth had always “stepped up to the plate” in reference to taking a fair share of refugees and asylum seekers. The numbers are small and are issued by central Government.

Supplementary: ‘Small Boats’ arrivals had been in the news  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.