Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors J.G. Davey, S. Davey, D. Ledger and M. Purvis.

Minutes of the meeting of County Council held on 6 January 2021, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record, signed by the Business Chair and sealed with the Common Seal of the Council (see pages 9-36).

Councillor Hill referred to pages 10 and 11 and her point about the Directors of Advance not declaring an interest and the minute which read “Councillor Wearmouth advised that his was a standing declaration for directors of Advance which was well known”. She felt caution needed to be used with the term “advised” as it implied a value judgement, and also, there was an inconsistency because Directors of Advance had previously declared an interest, including at the previous Cabinet meeting. She felt people needed to be consistent in their declarations.

Councillor Wearmouth responded that he had been clear at the previous Council meeting, and at Cabinet.

Councillor Grimshaw referred to the final paragraph on page 17 and advised that she had not received the breakdown of the refurbishment costs promised by Councillor Oliver. She would also have appreciated seeing the result of the survey on the budget before today’s meeting. Councillor Oliver apologised and promised a breakdown would be sent to all members in the next couple of days. He added that the survey results had gone out with the agenda papers over a week ago.

Councillor Dickinson referred to page 19 and the information he had requested on Adoption North East which had still not been received. Councillor Renner Thompson agreed to get this information to him.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of County Council held on 6 January 2021, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record, signed by the Business Chair and sealed with the Common Seal of the Council.

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required to disclose any personal interest (which includes any disclosable pecuniary interest) they may have in any of the items included on the agenda for the meeting in accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council on 4 July 2012, and are reminded that if they have any personal interests of a prejudicial nature (as defined under paragraph 17 of the Code Conduct) they must not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room

NB Any member needing clarification must contact monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk. Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter.

Councillor Hill declared an interest in respect of the capital programme (item 11(1) on the agenda which referenced Berwick Port) as a Berwick Harbour Commissioner.

Councillor Dungworth declared an interest in the Seaton Valley Federation schools where she was Chair of Governors.

Councillor Dickinson declared that he worked for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust and there were a number of loan arrangements in the budget report which related to them.

Councillor Hill commented that Councillor Oliver had declared an interest at a Scrutiny Committee when there had been a debt write off report. In view of the debt write off references within the budget report and the need to be careful regarding the legality of the budget, she queried whether Councillor Oliver had a declaration to make. Councillor Oliver replied that there were no debt write offs within the budget that he had an interest in, that he was aware of.

Councillor Hill asked for a legal opinion as to whether there were any concerns about Councillor Oliver presenting the budget given a previous declaration. The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised that there would only be any issue for Councillor Oliver if he had an interest in the write offs. 

The Business Chair reported to members on the recent death of former County Councillor Mick Scullion who had passed away on 31 January 2021. He had represented the Bothal Electoral Division from 1997 until 2005. Condolences were expressed.

He then advised that he was going to make a change to the running order of the agenda to allow consideration of the Budget and MTFP now. Councillor Dungworth wished to have it recorded that she was unhappy with the change in running order. This frustrated the ability of back bench members to be fully involved in the business of the Council by having their questions answered and was not a satisfactory way to conduct business.

This report provides a summary result of the budget consultation undertaken between 10th December 2020 and 21st January 2021. The budget consultation helps to inform the Council’s Budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan (see pages 147-158).

BUDGET CONSULTATION 2021-22, BUDGET 2021-22 AND MTFP 2021-24 AND COUNCIL TAX 2021-22

These items on the agenda were dealt with as one.

Budget Consultation 2021-22

The report provided a summary result of the budget consultation undertaken between 10th December 2020 and 21st January 2021. The budget consultation helped to inform the Council’s Budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan.

Budget 2021-22 and MTFP 2021-24 

The report provided the Revenue Budget for 2021-22 and Revenue Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2021-24 and the Capital Budget for 2021-22 and Capital MTFP to 2021-24, following the Government’s Spending Round Announcement 2020 (SR 2020), on 25 November 2020, and the publication of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on 17 December 2020.

Addendum to the Budget 2021-22 and Medium-Term Financial Plan

2021-24 Report

The report updated members with matters relating to the Budget 2021-22 which had arisen following publication of the report which was presented to an all member Corporate Services and Economic Growth Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8 February 2021 and Cabinet on 9 February 2021.

Council Tax 2021-22

The report provided Council Members with the financial information to enable the Council to calculate and set the Council Tax for 2021-22.

The Leader introduced these matters and referred to the high quality of staff who delivered the Council’s services, adding that there would be no compulsory redundancies. Consultation had been much wider than in previous years and he thanked those who had participated in it. He detailed the key findings from the consultation and the main points of the Administration’s achievements, priorities and investments.

Councillor Oliver commented that this was very positive and equitable budget with investment in all parts of the County. He thanked everyone who had been involved in putting the budget together. Regarding efficiencies, the aim was to improve front line services by finding more modern ways of doing things. Council Tax support would be doubled for those who needed it and one of the Administration’s priorities was to rebuild the economy post Covid through jobs and investment. He recommended the budget to members.

A number of comments were made including the following:-

·       Councillor Dungworth commented this was an election year budget with lots of empty promises that would not be delivered. Half of the Administration’s achievements had begun under the previous Administration and they had not delivered for schools in Seaton Valley, Amble and Berwick, they had not delivered regeneration for Bedlington and Ashington, and they had not significantly changed people’s lives in the poorest communities in Northumberland. The vast majority of people in the County had seen no change. In the last ten years of Conservative Government there had been a £47.88m reduction in the Council’s funding. The budget made no reference to outstanding liabilities currently facing the Council through Advance Northumberland and money spent on this meant less to spend on residents. She urged the Administration to properly start delivering for those communities that needed it.

·       Councillor Dickinson asked whether the Leader or Councillor Oliver had just presented the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The report provides the Revenue Budget for 2021-22 and Revenue Medium-Term  Financial Plan (MTFP) 2021-24 and the Capital Budget for 2021-22 and Capital MTFP to 2021-24, following the Government’s Spending Round Announcement 2020 (SR 2020), on 25 November 2020, and the publication of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on 17 December 2020.

The purpose of this report is to update members with matters relating to the Budget 2021-22 which have arisen following publication of the report which was presented to an all member Corporate Services and Economic Growth Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8 February 2021 and Cabinet on 9 February 2021 (see pages 159-160).

To provide Council Members with the financial information to enable the Council to calculate and set the Council Tax for 2021-22 (see pages 161-182).

(1)       Tuesday 12 January 2021 (see pages 37- 44)

(2)       Tuesday 9 February 2021 (see pages 45-60)

1)       Tuesday 12 January 2021

(2)      Tuesday 9 February 2021

RESOLVED that the minutes of Cabinet be received.

(1)       Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC           (see pages 61-82)

(2)       Family and Children’s Services OSC                             (see pages 83-90)

(3)       Communities and Place OSC                                           (see pages 91-96)

(4)       Health and Wellbeing OSC                                               (see pages 97-110)

(5)       Health and Wellbeing Board                                             (see pages 111-124)

(6)       Audit Committee                                                                  (see pages 125-138)

(7)       Food Poverty Working Group                                            (see pages 139-146)

(1)      Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC

Councillors Dale, Dungworth and Grimshaw expressed concern about behaviour of the Chair and other members towards the Chief Executive at the meeting, and that this behaviour had begun at the pre- meeting. Members appealed to the Business Chair to get control of the situation as he had mentioned previously that he would.

Councillor Homer commented that some of the remarks made were hearsay and speculation and this did not help the Council’s reputation. Any concerns needed to be raised through the proper procedures.

Councillor Beynon commented that he had been very concerned about the behaviour towards the Chair at the meeting, and he would be taking further action on it. Opposition members also needed to observe respect.

Councillor Dickinson commented that this was not the first time there had been issues in this Committee. The footage was on Youtube for all to see so was not speculation. He suggested that a line be drawn under matters and a fresh start made rather than clogging up the formal procedures.

Councillor Webb commented that he had watched the footage and had been appalled. These were Standards Committee issues.

Councillor Bawn advised members that these matters were now subject to formal complaint made by him and would be investigated. The behaviour in the meeting by members had not been acceptable, and had been perpetrated by both sexes.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC be received.

(2)      Family and Children’s Services OSC  

These were presented by Councillor Swinburn.

Councillor Dickinson suggested that the staggered reopening of schools needed to be looked at urgently with officers in terms of the impact on the transport plan.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Family and Children’s Services OSC be received.

(3)      Communities and Place OSC

These were presented by Councillor Reid.

With regard to Minute No 73.1 (Monitoring Arrangements for Active Northumberland) Councillor Dunn asked whether there had been any discussions about the period beyond 2022 and when councillors could expect to receive details of the recovery plan.

Councillor Watson replied that officers and members were looking now at how best to manage the reopening. Some centres were being used as testing stations, but a plan should be available in the next couple of weeks.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Communities and Place OSC be received.

(4)      Health and Wellbeing OSC

These were presented by Councillor Beynon.

Councillor Simpson commended the work being done on the vaccination programme.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health and Wellbeing OSC be received.

(5)      Health and Wellbeing Board

These were presented by Councillor Dodd, who drew members’ attention to the mobile testing units across the County.

Councillor Dickinson commented that the third sector testing arrangements were working really well, and the number of volunteers working on the testing programme was excellent.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health and Wellbeing Board be received.

(6)      Audit Committee   

These were presented by Councillor Hill, who asked members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To receive an update from the Director of Public Health

Members received an update from the Director of Public Health.

This report seeks members’ approval to proposed amendments to the Constitution to include additional details of the Fire & Rescue Authority, the role of the Council’s Audit Committee and amendments to the terms of reference of the Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee (see pages 183-216).

(1)      Update to Constitution – Fire & Rescue Service & Audit Committee & Communities & Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee 

The report sought members’ approval to proposed amendments to the Constitution to include additional details of the Fire & Rescue Authority, the role of the Council’s Audit Committee and amendments to the terms of reference of the Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)      the amended Articles and Terms of Reference at Appendices A and B to the report be approved and Council note the intention to insert an additional paragraph on the Fire and Rescue Service in the Introduction to the Constitution;

(b)      Council note the intention to delete existing references in Article 8 (Regulatory & Other Committees) and in Part 3 (Committee Terms of Reference) ) to the NCC LGPS Local Pension Board and to the FPS Local Pension Board for the reasons set out in paragraphs 6 and 7 of the report; and

(c)      Council approve the amended Terms of Reference for Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Appendix C to the report.

This report seeks Council to proposed amendments to the Access to Information Rules of Procedure which sit within Part 5 of the Council’s Constitution and to the Officer Delegation Scheme in Part 4 of the Constitution (see pages 217-258)..  

Update to Constitution – Access to Information Rules of Procedure and Officer Delegation Scheme

The report sought Council to proposed amendments to the Access to Information Rules of Procedure which sat within Part 5 of the Council’s Constitution and to the Officer Delegation Scheme in Part 4 of the Constitution. 

RESOLVED that:-

(a)      Council approve the amended Access to Information Rules of Procedure at Part 5 of the Constitution attached as Appendix A to the report; and

(b)      Council approve the amended Officers Delegation Scheme at Part 4 of the Constitution and attached as Appendix B to the report

To seek approval under the provisions of section 239 of the Local Government Act 1972 (which applies in this case by virtue of section 20 of the Transport and Works Act 1992) for the Council to submit an application for The Northumberland Line Order (the Order) to the Secretary of State for Transport under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (the Application) (the current ambition is to submit in or around April 2021) and to approve delegations to the Head of Paid Service to finalise the details of the Application and progress certain matters (see pages 259-270).

The report sought approval under the provisions of section 239 of the Local Government Act 1972 (which applies in this case by virtue of section 20 of the Transport and Works Act 1992) for the Council to submit an application for The Northumberland Line Order (the Order) to the Secretary of State for Transport under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (the Application) and to approve delegations to the Head of Paid Service to finalise the details of the Application and progress certain matters.

The report was introduced by Councillor Wearmouth. In response to a question regarding funding for the Metro link at Northumberland Park from Councillor Bowman, Councillor Wearmouth advised that that wasn’t relevant to the matters which were subject to the report but officers would see what could be done to make it as seamless as possible.

Councillor Dale referred to the risk assessment and the potential cost to the Council should there be a public inquiry. Councillor Wearmouth advised this could be circulated to all members.

Councillor Gallacher welcomed this and asked that local members be kept updated, especially regarding site visits.

Councillor Webb expressed concern that the connection to Northumberland Park Metro had to be secured to make this successful. Councillor Wearmouth agreed that this was a critical link and was covered.

In response to other member comments, Councillor Wearmouth agreed to circulate contacts within the Project Team and that regular presentations to affected LACs would be helpful. There would be free parking at stations, and he noted points made about accessibility and journey times.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)      Council approve the submission of the Application by the Council to the Secretary of State for Transport for the purposes of section 239 of the Local Government Act 1972;

(b)      Council approve the delegation of powers to the Head of Paid Service to:

a.       finalise the various documents required for the Application.

b.       progress negotiations with any affected parties or objectors to the Application with the aim of avoiding, or securing the withdrawal of, any objections to the Application.

c.        comply and deal with any public local inquiry processes and procedures arising or resulting from the submission of the Application.

d.       progress negotiations with any landowners and leaseholders and make necessary arrangements to acquire the land within the proposed Order, conditional on the basis the Order will be made; and

(c)      Council approve the delegation of powers to the Head of Paid Service to negotiate, agree, enter into, execute, and serve (where appropriate) all relevant legal agreements, notices, and other documentation necessary to facilitate and underpin the Application and Order. 

Council is asked to approve the timetable of meetings for 2021-22 (see pages 271-274).

RESOLVED that the timetable of meetings for 2021-22 be approved.

Question 1 from Councillor Hill to the Leader

It is always interesting to hear what political leaders’ top priorities are. A former PM famously said that his top 3 priorities were all education. The Leader of NCC has recently said that his number one priority, above everything else, is climate change. Could the Leader enlighten us as to what his 2nd and 3rd priorities are and at what number does education come in at?

Councillor Sanderson replied that what he had said at the recent Scrutiny Committee was that climate change remained a priority. This was in addition to other corporate priorities, alongside all the joint working arrangements which took place. The Council had taken a proactive approach to dealing with climate change and he hoped members would support this

Councillor Hill sought clarity that climate change was not the top priority, just one of the main ones. The Leader confirmed that it would remain very much a priority.

Question 2 from Councillor Hill to Councillor Riddle

Since May 2017, the Portfolio Holder for Community Services, has been one of the two representatives from NCC on the Northumbria Police and Crime Panel. How many Northumbria Police and Crime Panel meetings have there been since then and how many have you attended? 

Councillor Riddle responded that he had attended 15 out of a possible 23 meetings. Councillor Hill replied that she would come back to that.

Question 3 from Councillor Robinson to the Leader

We have all just seen the effects the weather is having on various aspects of the county.  I want to ask about the disturbing flooding issues we have seen at West Lea Cemetery in my ward. I know there are schemes being proposed and looked into, and thanks to the Leader and Service Director for agreeing that, but I want to ask will the necessary funding be found to finally resolve what is a very emotive situation and one we have known about for many years.  It’s one thing agreeing to look into something, quite another to make the funding available, so that’s what I want to make sure of.  

The Leader agreed that was a very emotive issue and it was right to be raised. Some pumping equipment had been brought in previously and survey work would be done in order to design a scheme to alleviate the flooding. Provision for this would be made from the funds allocated to flood protection measures.

Question 4 from Councillor Robinson to Councillor Oliver

Given that the Town Centre scheme for Bedlington focussing on retail development has had its funding included in 2 or even 3 budgets I know of, yet never actually taken place and a vastly different scheme is in place now, what investment will there be in Bedlington Town Centre going forwards?

Councillor Wearmouth responded that the first couple of phases were getting underway with funding from the County Council and Government. There now needed to be a fresh look at what happened next including leisure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

Council is invited to consider passing the following resolution:

(a)       That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item on the Agenda as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act, and

(b)       That the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure for the following reasons:-

Agenda Item 16

Paragraph of Part I of Schedule 12A – 1, 3 and 4

Information relating to Information relating to any individual, information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the Authority.. 

AND   The public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure because disclosure would adversely affect the Authority’s ability to conduct its affairs.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item on the Agenda as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act, and

(b)            That the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure for the following reasons:-

The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the appointment of an Interim Executive Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer for Northumberland County Council (see pages 275-280)

The report sought approval of the appointment of an Interim Executive Director of

Finance and Section 151 Officer for Northumberland County Council (copy attached to the sealed minutes, coloured pink and marked “not for publication”).

Members wished Chris Hand well in his new role and asked questions around the recruitment process for the interim appointment and for the permanent appointment.

A query was also raised about the number of previous incumbents in the last four years and the reasons for this, and the period of notice which had been required from the S151 Officer. In view of the nature of the questions being asked, the Chief Executive asked all Executive Directors, apart from the Deputy Chief Executive to leave the call. She then replied that she could provide an answer in writing on the point if required. Regarding the processes, the usual processes had been adopted and would continue to be, and she explained the position regarding the period of notice.

RESOLVED that recommendations 1-4, as detailed in the report of the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council, be agreed.