Name

Item

Interest

Reason

Councillors Darcy and Nicholson

Minute  84: Revised Council Tax Support Scheme

Private

Appointed as a Magistrate dealing with attachment of earnings

Councillor Stark

Minute 90: Holocaust Memorial Day – Monday 27 January 2014

Private

Trustee of the Centre for Faiths and Cultural Diversity

  Committees and Other  Bodies

Membership

Appointments 2013/14

(1)

Adoption and Permanence Panel

One councillor

Councillor Tuohy to replace Councillor Parker

(2)

Chief Officer Appeals Panel

Three councillors (two Labour and one Conservative)

Councillors Fry, McDonald and Murphy

(a)

referred to the recent death of Alderman John Finnigan (known as Jack) on 16 January 2014 at the age of 90 years. Alderman Finnegan represented the Sutton Ward following his election to the Plymouth City Council in 1980 where he focussed on the former Public Services Committee and the Planning Committee.  He became Deputy Lord Mayor in 1984/85 and then Lord Mayor of Plymouth in 1990/91.  He was later made Alderman of the city in 1995.

The Council was advised of the funeral arrangements and that they would be informed of arrangements for a commemoration service in Plymouth when details were confirmed.  

The Council stood in silence for one minute as mark of respect. 

(b)

congratulated Tracy Green (Family Intervention Officer) and Betty and John Insley on their award of MBEs in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List 2014 and thanked them on behalf of the Council for their achievements and services to the city.  Tracy Green was recognised for her services to children and young people and Betty and John Insley (foster carers) after caring for more than 200 children over 35 years;

(c)

thanked Michelle Newman for her years of continued service to the Council and the children of Plymouth, following her success as team leader of the year at the national ‘Social Worker of the Year 2013’ awards. 

The Lord Mayor presented the award which had been given for the excellent support she provided to her team, her ongoing dedication to the role and her steady-hand which helped to give a highly pressured team, a stable foundation on which to work;

(d)

congratulated the Sports Development Unit on their achievement as Community Partner of the Year in the South West from England Athletics, in recognition of the outstanding contribution made to athletics in the city.

The Lord Mayor presented the award to Louise Kelley (Sports Development Manager), Martin Lees (Community Sports Manager), Barry Mountstevens (Sports Development Coordinator) and Nyrene Wise, Paul Johnson and Charlotte Brew (Sport and Recreation Assistants);

(e)

congratulated the Plymouth Care Co-ordination Team who had been ‘highly commended’ in the NHS Innovation Challenge Prize for dementia in recognition of the team’s work on a pilot scheme to support people with dementia, to stay living in the community and to reduce hospital admissions.  The team had also been invited to speak at two major conferences and other authorities were showing interest in the initiative.

The Lord Mayor presented the award to Debbie Butcher and Anna Coles from Co-operative Commissioning and Adult Social Care and Steve Waite from the Plymouth Community Healthcare.

(f)

presented a framed signed picture of HMS Warspite to the Lord Mayor to be hung in the Council House to mark the 100^th anniversary of the launch of the battleship on26 November 2013;

(g)

announced that the historic city deal for the Plymouth and South West Peninsula had been signed as a result of partnership working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

Question No

Question By

Cabinet Member

Subject

Q12/13-14

Linda Crick

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Co-operatives and Community Development)

Local Welfare Provision Grant

Given recent reports that the Conservative led government is going to scrap the "local welfare provision grant" from 2015, could the Council confirm how much of this funding has come to Plymouth, what it's been used for and what effect it's withdrawal will have on local people.

Response:

I am disappointed that less than a year after the commencement of local delivery of the welfare provision grant, and before any evaluation has been undertaken, the Conservative Government has cut the funding by 100 per cent.

Let us be clear, this fund helps anyone in Plymouth at a time of crisis – it is assessed on the basis of situation not employment status. It also seeks to provide means tested support for local people going through major life changes that require rehousing or resettlement.

The total funding received for 2012/13 is £1,064,046 of which we have allocated administration costs of £80,000, leaving a budget for front line resource of £984,046. In 2014/15 we expect to receive a total of £1,048,567. Thereafter there will be no funding available from this Tory and Lib Dem coalition government.

In Plymouth we had anticipated the cuts to the welfare system would have a substantial impact on people in Plymouth. This Labour administration, working very closely with our partners, implemented a suite of early intervention and prevention measures to mitigate this impact.

Unfortunately the Department for Work and Pensions was not able to give us information about how the Social Fund was used; how many repeat customers they had; the number of customers in each household; what was being asked for; all really important information we lacked when we put our scheme together. Following pre-decision scrutiny recommendations Cabinet we agreed that we needed to set and publish very strict criteria to access our Emergency and Welfare Fund a view endorsed and adopted by Full Council.

Up to the end of December 2013 the Emergency and Welfare Fund had awarded 959 Crisis Payments, including money for food and utilities, and 372 Community Care Payments, including household items and white goods. Demand for the Emergency and Welfare Fund is rising month on month, and we anticipate seeing this continue.

Unlike the scheme that the Department for Work and Pensions operated, which simply handed out resources, we focus on providing wider help and support for people who approach us in crisis, with the aim of preventing future problems and reducing their call on the Fund. We work towards helping an individual address any underlying financial difficulties they are having,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

(1)

the £2.170m acquisition of land at Seaton Neighbourhood for the NHS land detailed in the Cabinet report and the associateduseof a loan fromthe Council’s InvestmentFund;

(2)

a virement of £2.775m to release funds from the Basic Need and School Condition capital resources to progress the following schemes –

?

£2.475m to build a new two form entry school with early years’ provision to replace the current provision on the Knowle Primary School site from September 2015; 

?

£300,000 to build a new classroom at St Peter’s CE Primary School to enable the school to have sufficient space to allocate to their Planned Admission Number (PAN) and to increase their PAN from 25 to 30 from September 2014.

(a)

 the Council had a duty to keep polling districts and places under review;

(b)

 a review was undertaken every four years;

(c)

the Returning Officer had responsibility for polling locations;

(d)

Stoke Damerell and St Gabriel Churches had both agreed to the use of their facilities for election purposes.

(4)

the List of Polling Places and Districts and Stations attached to the written report is confirmed approved and to note the list of Polling Stations within the Polling Districts as approved by the Returning Officer.

(1)

the Electoral Registration Officer keeps all electoral activities under constant review;

(2)

the alterations listed in the report are implemented from 17 February 2014 -

(a)

Polling District and Polling Place BE to be merged with Polling District and Polling Place BC, with Halcyon Methodist Church allocated as the polling station;

(b)

Polling District and Polling Place BG to be merged with Polling District and Polling Place BH, with St Pancras Church Hall allocated as the new polling station;

(c)

the polling districts in the Ham ward to be renamed as follows with effect from 17 February 2014 -

Current Polling

District Name

New Polling District Name to be allocated after 17 February 2014

Polling Station

BA

BA

Weston Mill Primary School

BB

BB

Weston Mill Oak Villa Club

BC + BE

BC

Halcyon Methodist Church

BD

BD

Mobile at Tewkesbury Close

BF

BE

Morice Baptist Church

BG + BH

BF

St Pancras Church

(3)

that the following is noted -

(a)

the Stoke Damerel Centre to be used as polling station for Polling District JC instead of Stoke Damerel Primary School;

(b)

St Gabriel’s Church to replace Peverell Methodist Church;

(4)

the List of Polling Places and Districts attached to the written report is approved and to note the list of Polling Stations within the Polling Districts as approved by the Returning Officer.

(a)

Holocaust Memorial Day – Monday 27 January 2014

Proposed by Councillor Penberthy and seconded by Councillor Philippa Davey;   

(b)

Public Health Settlement – Plymouth

Proposed by Councillor McDonald and seconded by Councillor Evans.   

‘Council recognises that the Holocaust shook the foundations of modern civilisation. Council believes that we must make sure that everyone especially future generations understands the causes of the Holocaust and reflects upon its consequences and lessons for today.

Council notes that –

?

Holocaust Memorial Day was established in the UK in 2001. It remembers and honours all the victims and survivors of the Holocaust under Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo and Darfur.

?

Six million Jewish men, women and children perished in ghettos, mass-shootings, and concentration and extermination camps before any survivors were liberated by allied troops in 1945.

?

Nearly half a million Gypsies and Travellers were also registered, sterilised and then deported to concentration camps by the Nazis in an event they call the Porajmos (the ‘devouring’).

?

Similar fates met gay men, lesbians and transgendered and disabled people. Between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals, of whom some 50,000 were officially sentenced with 15,000 incarcerated within concentration camps. Figures in relation to lesbians and transgendered people are not known. An estimated 200,000 disabled people were killed by the Nazis.

(1)

promote the importance of today’s and future Holocaust Memorial Days and to support annual commemorative events within our city;  

(2)

foster a shared responsibility to create a better present and future for all by recognising that humanity is still scarred by the belief that race, religion, disability or sexuality makes some people’s lives worth less than others; 

(3) 

support the development and promotion of Plymouth’s Welcoming City plan;

(4) 

take a stand against genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, hate crimes and discrimination.’

(a)

it was important that the work of the Centre for Faiths and Cultural Diversity continued;

(b)

young people and children in Plymouth had chosen to mark this day through singing and dancing;

(c) 

that it was important to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90.

‘The health profiles recently published by Public Health England show the scale of the challenge that faces us in Plymouth.  Only four of the 32 indicators are green and for 18 the situation in Plymouth is significantly worse than the national average.

We are currently attempting to address these serious public health issues with an allocation (in 2013/14) of £43 per head.  This compares to the Public Health England (PHE) target figure of £55 per head.  We are underfunded by £12 per head this year.  Plymouth’s funding situation will not improve significantly in 2014/15 as we will still be underfunded by £11 per head (£47 allocation compared to the PHE £58 target).  Even with the two annual 10 per cent uplifts our closing distance from target figure will be minus 19.6 per cent in 2014/15.

When compared with our Office of National Statistics comparators, Plymouth’s poor settlement situation becomes even more apparent.  As already stated, in 2014/15 our per head allocation will be £47.  This compares with, for example, Portsmouth £77, Brighton and Hove £67, Bristol £66 and Southampton £62.  The Public Health England Profiles for these areas reveals that their health indicators appear to be more favourable than those of Plymouth.

The People of Plymouth deserve the best of health and to support this we need fair funding for public health.

We therefore call upon this Council to request that the Leader of the Council write to the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Health and to the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Public Health, Jane Ellison MP to request a meeting with us and our MPs to ensure this funding shortfall is rectified as a matter of urgency.

In addition, the Chief Executive seeks an urgent meeting with Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of Public Health England to discuss the matter.‘

(a)

the tiered structure of public health with directors, regions, a national board and the Secretary of State together with associated costs; 

(b) 

that the settlement was insufficient to tackle the health inequalities in the city;

(c) 

that support should be enlisted from former members of staff at public health now working at Public Health England.

(1)

the Leader of the Council write to the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Health and to the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Public Health, Jane Ellison MP to request a meeting with the Council and the city’s MPs to ensure this funding shortfall is rectified as a matter of urgency;

(2)

the Chief Executive seeks an urgent meeting with Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of Public Health England to discuss the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

From

To

Subject

1

Councillor Mrs Beer

Councillor Vincent / Councillor Stevens

Why was there no consultation with Plympton Erle ward councillors on the proposed Plymouth Gypsy traveller site?

A reassurance was sought that in future local councillors were consulted on issues on the boundary of their wards.

Councillor Vincent responded that he had had no discussions or consultations on the site.

Councillor Stevens also responded that there was a legal requirement on the part of South Hams to formally consult with the Council and that did not take place. Informal contact was made through a Council officer who was not authorised to speak on behalf of the authority.  Gary Streeter MP had put in a formal objection to the application but had not advised councillors or residents.

Ward councillors would be advised if there was a formal consultation from an adjoining local authority.

2

Councillor Bowyer

Councillor Coker

What was the latest position on the package of proposals announced in relation to car parking charges? When would a decision be made? 

Councillor Coker responded that consultation had finished before Christmas and officers were finalising a report which would be considered by Cabinet Members shortly.

3

Councillor Mrs Bowyer

Councillor Coker

187 fines had been issued to motorists following a police diversion into a bus lane. Did the police contribute towards the cost of cancelling the tickets? What were the costs?

Councillor Coker undertook to provide a written response. He also responded that the police had to make a decision quickly and that he had subsequently met with them to put protocols in place to ensure that the Council were notified quickly so that the cameras could be turned off.

4

Councillor Morris

Councillor Vincent

What would be the effect of the government proposal on areas such as Dartmoor, if disused farm buildings could be replaced with up to three dwellings?How would this affect Plymouth’s own local nature reserves?

Councillor Vincent responded that the proposals were part of the initiative to reduce red tape in the planning system and make it easier to build houses. In reality, it could lead to housing being developed randomly across the national parks where there were derelict barns and farms. In total there were 6,000 agricultural buildings in Dartmoor and Exmoor that could be affected by this proposal and many more in the region’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  There would then also need to be roads and power lines to connect them with the associated impact on wildlife and the natural environment.

The nature reserves were inner city green spaces managed by the Council.

5

Councillor Ball 

Councillor Coker

Were roads likely to be less safe in the dark? Following the removal of street lighting in an unadopted road in Compton, could an assurance be given that every effort would be made to install street lighting?  

Councillor Coker responded that street lighting played an important role in the safety  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.