Committee

Membership

Ambitious Plymouth Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Co-operative Scrutiny Board

Councillor Monahan to replace Councillor Sam Leaves as Vice Chair of the Panel and member of the Co-operative Scrutiny Board

  Committees and Other  Bodies

Membership

Appointments 2013/14

(a)

Admissions Forum (Schools)

One vacancy arising from resignation of Councillor Sam Leaves.

Councillor Monahan

(b)

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority

One vacancy arising from resignation of Councillor Martin Leaves.

Councillor Darcy

(c)

Standing Advisory Committee for Religious Education

One vacancy arising from resignation of Councillor Ricketts.

Councillor Dr Mahony

(a)

reported that the Special Olympics (for people with special needs) were held in Bath and Bristol this year.  For the first time Plymouth was represented by 30 athletes who achieved 13 medals including four gold medals.  The Lord Mayor congratulated them all for being true ambassadors for the City of Plymouth;

(b)

announced that the Plymouth Life Centre, had been awarded a number of high profile awards -

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‘Commercial Project of the Year with a value over £3million’ at theMichelmores / Western Morning News Property Awards 2013;

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the title of ‘Best Community Building’ at the 2013 Local Authority Building Control (LABC), Building Excellence Awards South West;

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a nomination for a LABC national award, again in the category of ‘Best Community Building’, the winners to be announced in November 2013;

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sports and leisure facility ‘Major Project of the Year’ at the Institute of Civil Engineers South West awards ceremony.

The Lord Mayor presented the awards to Tony Hopwood (former Project Manager), Chris Randall (Strategic Finance Manager), Alwyn Thomas (Senior Commercial Lawyer) and Des Heath (Building Control Team Leader) who accepted them on behalf of all those who contributed towards the project.   

(c)

announced that Customer Services had for the fourth consecutive year been awarded the nationally recognised Customer Service Excellence Award with improved results. The award demonstrated that the service continued to put the customer at the centre of what they do by ensuring continuous improvement across all the areas measured.   

The Lord Mayor presented the certificate to Lynne Reed (service manager), Claire Edwards (team leader), Wayne Hepburn, Loretta Tucker and Gavin O’Riley (Customer Advisors) who accepted it on behalf of all those in customer services who were to be congratulated on their achievement.

(d)

reported that, as a result of major cuts in transport funding and in spite of a commitment by government to address under investment, the gap in spending between the south west and London and the UK as a whole, continued to increase.  He had raised the issue at the Board of the LEP and it was agreed to work collectively at board level to make representations to the government using all available channels;

(e)

read a letter he had sent to the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin (Secretary of State for Transport), which raised concerns with regard to the short term extension of the Great Western Rail Franchise which would now not deliver urgently needed improvements.  The poor and intermittent wi-fi connectivity and the lack of an early morning train from London to Plymouth were identified and he had asked for government assistance in the delivery of the improvements within the interim franchise arrangements.

Question No

Question By

Cabinet Member

Subject

Q8/13-14

Mr J Williams

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance)

Councillor Peter Smith (Deputy Leader)

Liability Order Court Summons

Please breakdown the Authority’s costs for summoning a Council Tax payer to a Liability Order Court hearing between: -

1.    Court charges

2.    Printing

3.    Postage

4.    Staff salaries

5.    Other costs. 

What is the Authority’s reaction to the Parliamentary Answer by Bridget Prentice in 2009 that the cost of issuing a liability order was £3?

Response:

The £3 charge referred to by Bridget Prentice relates to the cost levied to local authorities by the court for the issue of a Liability Order. This is just one element of cost of a process that involves a lot of staff time and resource over several months.

We do not break down our costs to the level of detail as requested in this question however, we can confirm that the biggest element of this cost is staff time.

Other than the standard issuing of bills, reminders and final notices, significant staff time is spent in preparing the evidence required for liability orders. Staff resource also has to be present in court to manage legal and customer queries on the day. Post court, further work is needed to finalise the process and request attachments to benefits or earnings.

Liability Orders are a tool of last resort for the council. We continue to prioritise and focus on proactively working with our residents to better manage their finances and ensure that individuals access all of the benefits to which they are entitled to. 

PCC benchmarks against the CIPFA Group of 80 local authority members which demonstrates that our costs are reasonable, being lower than average. Our liability order costs of £83 compares to the average of £88 (CIPFA group average for 2012/13)

I entirely appreciate the nature of this question, and am equally mindful that increasing cost unnecessarily goes against our principles as a caring council, therefore I can assure the gentleman that I shall look further into this matter to ensure our costs are kept to a minimum and will personally feedback my findings.

Question No

Question By

Cabinet Member

Subject

Q9/13-14

Mr S Gomery

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance 

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Co-operatives and Communities)

Councillor Williams (Children and Young People)

Impact of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme on families

The Joseph Rowntree Trust, describes Plymouth’s Council tax reduction scheme as among the harshest in the country in its impact on people on the lowest incomes.  This includes thousands of families  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

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 Marjon link road to Derriford Hospital

£1.5m

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Vehicle and plant replacement phase IV

£1.8m

(1)

acts as guarantor for Ocean Studios Community Interest Company (CIC) for repayment of the balance of the Trust’s loan from the LEP outstanding to a maximum of £802,655 in accordance with an agreed Heads of Terms between Plymouth City Council and the Ocean Studios CIC which mitigates the potential financial impact upon the council. Authority to agree the Heads of Terms to be delegated to the Director for Place;

(2)

makes a capital contribution of £802,655 from the Investment Fund. 

(1)

to adopt a longer term approach to addressing the reduction in funding available to the council, planning for a balanced indicative budget in each of the coming three years; 

(2)

to support the implementation of a council-wide transformation programme, based on co-operative values, to substantially reduce the operating costs of the council and ensure the maximum possible investment in achieving the council’s objectives; 

(3)

that Cabinet reviews earmarked reserves and balances to ensure that the  Transformation Programme reserve is adequate to cover cash flow requirements for the period of 2013/14 to 2016/17 (managing the overall costs incurred and savings achieved across each financial year).

(a)

that webcasting was not a necessity in the current financial climate especially with local media reporting on meetings; 

(b)

that the cost of £74,000 was justified to increase public access to council decision making;

(c)

that the council was committed to openness and transparency;

(d)

that income of £55,000 had been generated to support the work of the Police and Crime Panel;

(e)

a previous motion moved by Councillor Ball and discussed by the City Council in October 2010 in relation to the enforcement of a ban on the electronic recording of speech and making photographic and/or video images.

(1)

continue with the webcasting of meetings;

(2)

share the costs and resources’ implications evenly across the council.  

(1)

the revised Planning Committee Code of Practice as submitted;

(2)

the change to the Planning Committee’s terms of reference as submitted.  

 ‘For any complaint that does not result in reference to the police, the Member (the subject of the complaint) shall be advised of the complaint within five working days.  If not available at that time, full details shall be provided within a further 10 days.’ 

This council recognises that the sexualisation of children is an on-going and developing issue, particularly for parents, and that we now live in an increasingly sexual and sexualised culture. 

This council welcomes the recommendations of the government's Bailey Review: ‘Letting Children Be Children’ report and remains committed to ensuring that all children grow up in a safe environment, which includes children not being exposed to sexualised imagery in public places.

The definition of sexualisation is contained in the Home Office -Sexualisation of Young People Review: Dr. Linda Papadopoulos.  Sexualisation occurs when children and young people –

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have adult sexuality imposed on them; 

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are told their value comes only from their sexual appeal or behaviour, that their physical attractiveness is judged solely with being sexy to exclusion of other characteristics; and 

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are sexually objectified (made into a ‘thing’ for other people's sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making). 

(1)

pledges its support to campaigns which aim to protect children and young people from exposure to inappropriate and unnecessary sexualised images in the promotion, marketing and advertising for goods and services and to remove publications which carry such imagery from council owned buildings and services where children are likely to see it; 

(2)

commits to communicate the rationale for this action to staff and council service users; 

(3)

commits to look at how the council can work with its' partners to reduce the amount of on-street advertising containing sexualised imagery in locations where children are likely to see it in line with Recommendation 2 of the Bailey Review and the Advertising Standards Agency’s guidelines on sexual imagery in outdoor advertising;

(4)

will take into account measures, that include the reduction or elimination of sexualised imagery on any licensed premises, by utilising licensing policies; in particular by means of the licensing objective that promotes the protection of children from harm;

(5)

instructs the Chief Executive to prepare the necessary guidance in support of implementing clauses (1) – (4) above.

(a)

the pressures could cause depression and eating disorders in children and young people;

(b)

councillors had responsibilities as corporate parents to take such actions as they could to protect children and young people in their care;

(c)

responsibility also laid with parents in monitoring internet use by their children.

From

To

Subject

1

Councillor Nicholson

Councillor Stevens

With reference to planning consents at the Royal William Yard and car parking issues at Devil’s Point, could an update be provided on the car parking strategy in relation to Devil’s Point?

Councillor Vincent responded that he would provide a written response.

2

Councillor Bowie

Councillor Williams

The Rt Hon Michael Gove (Secretary of State for Education) had made an announcement on the rewards from the provision of free school meals. What was the council’s position? This matter could be picked up as part of the ‘Narrowing the Gap’ exercise.

Councillor Williams responded that following a pilot in two areas on the provision of free school meals, it had been found that attainment had been increased and productivity had been improved. She was disappointed that the council (following a motion submitted at the time) had not taken the opportunity to be part of the pilot scheme.

3

Councillor Darcy

Councillor Lowry

Did he agree that, with the shortfalls in the budget, there was a need to ensure value for money for services, for example in planning?  Would he apologise for wasting council tax payers money by calling in a planning application to Planning Committee and not speaking to it.   

Councillor Lowry responded ‘yes’ to the first part.  He called in the planning application because he felt it was important for the Planning Committee to look at it.  He registered to speak but did not need to do so.

4

Councillor Bowyer

Councillor Williams

Was she aware of the opinion by European Union lawyers on the financial transactions tax which says that the tax was not compatible with existing laws and was discriminatory?  With reference to a previous motion approved by the council on this, would another motion be introduced? 

Councillor Williams responded that she would seek guidance from officers on the implications.

5

Councillor  Dr Mahony

Councillor Vincent

Could he be updated on the progress of the reinstatement of the football pitch following the removal of spoil associated with the Life Centre project?  

Councillor Vincent responded that the site would be levelled with topsoil to provide a football pitch and that the Friends of Central Park would be kept informed of progress.  The reinstatement was not part of the Life Centre project and he could not provide an exact date for the work at the present time. 

6

Councillor Jordan

Councillor Williams

Did she think that it was acceptable for four and five year olds to travel across the city to school? There were no reception places either in Plympton or Plymstock and was it acceptable for parents to be advised to send their children to either Wembury or a free school, with no support?

Councillor Williams responded that 80 per cent of children had received their first choice of school this year.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

(1)

the proposals for changes to the Corporate Management Team and Senior Management Team are approved;

(2)

the outline timetable implementing the changes to Chief Officer positions and their direct reports, is noted; 

(3)

an Appointments Panel is established with delegated authority to consider any further responses from the collective and individual consultation undertaken; approve the role profiles of the new positions; agree how the roles will be selected; make appointments to roles as appropriate and agree the dismissal of any Chief Officer by means of redundancy subject to the City Council’s redundancy policy; 

(4)

an Appeal Panel is established with delegated authority for hearing and considering any appeals against any potential Chief Officer redundancies;

(5)

the City Council’s constitution is amended to reflect the changes to the Chief Officer structure and the designation of the statutory roles of the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer;

(6)

an Appointments Panel is established with delegated authority to appoint to the vacant role of Assistant Director for Co-operative Commissioning and Adult Social Care.  Given the urgent operational issue linked to recruiting to this role, the Appointments Panel will consider if there are suitable internal candidates who could be appointed first, before considering an external recruitment campaign.