Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Ball, Bridgett, Carr, Clark, Darwin, Dodd, Ferguson, Foster, Scott, Swinbank, Towns and J. Watson.

Minutes of the following meetings of County Council, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record, signed by the Business Chair and sealed with the Common Seal of the Council:-

(1)      Wednesday 4 May 2022 (annual meeting) (see pages 11-28)

(2)      Wednesday 8 June 2022 (extraordinary meeting) (see pages 29-42)

(3)      Tuesday 21 June 2022 (extraordinary meeting) (see pages 43-52).

With regard to Minute No. 21 (Statutory Report under S114 and 114a, pg 38), Councillor Robinson advised that he had said several thousand, not 700,000.

Councillor Morphet advised that he had not been listed as vice chair of the Cycling and Walking Board.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the following meetings of Council be signed by the Business Chair and sealed with the Common Seal of the Council subject to these amendments:-

(1) Wednesday 4 May 2022 (annual meeting)

(2) Wednesday 8 June 2022 (extraordinary meeting

(3) Tuesday 21 June 2022 (extraordinary meeting)

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required where a matter arises at a meeting;

a.       Which directly relates to Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (‘DPI’) as set out in Appendix B, Table 1 of the Code of Conduct, to disclose the interest, not participate in any discussion or vote and not to remain in room. Where members have a DPI or if the matter concerns an executive function and is being considered by a Cabinet Member with a DPI they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with the matter.

b.       Which directly relates to the financial interest or well being of an Other Registrable Interest as set out in Appendix B, Table 2 of the Code of Conduct to disclose the interest and only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak at the meeting but otherwise must not take part in any discussion  or vote on the matter and must not remain the room.

c.        Which directly relates to their financial interest or well-being  (and is not  DPI) or the financial well being of a relative or close associate, to declare the interest and members may only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak. Otherwise, the member must not take part in discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room.

d.       Which affects the financial well-being of the member, a relative or close associate or a body included under the Other Registrable Interests column in Table 2, to disclose the interest and apply the test set out at paragraph 9 of Appendix B before deciding whether they may remain in the meeting.

e.       Where Members have or a Cabinet Member has an Other Registerable Interest or Non Registerable Interest in a matter being considered in exercise of their executive function, they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with it.

NB Any member needing clarification must contact monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk.  Members are referred to the Code of Conduct which contains the matters above in full. Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter.

The Leader advised that the Leaders had met with Louella Brian the previous week but there were still some areas to iron out. He would report back to members as soon as he had further information. At this stage, Durham CC had not decided which way to go.

The Business Chair reported to members on those who had recently received honours in HM the Queen’s Birthday Honours list as follows:-

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Michael Keith Brodie. Chief Executive, NHS Business Services Authority. For services to Health, particularly during the Response to Covid-19. (Ashington, Northumberland)

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Graeme Arnold Conley. Manager, Monument View Children's Home, Sunderland. For services to Children and Young People. (Blyth, Northumberland)

Paul Matthew Cook. Principal and Chief Executive, Herewood College. For services to Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. (Blyth, Northumberland)

Dr Angus George Lunn. Vice President, Northumberland Wildlife Trust. For services to Education and to Peatland Conservation. (Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear)

Professor Elizabeth Ruth Plummer. Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University. For services to Medicine. (Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear)

Kate Thompson. Head of Extra Care Services, Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. For services to Social Care. (Stocksfield, Northumberland)

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

Simon Banks. Works Supervisor, Forestry England. For services to Forestry. (Hexham, Northumberland)

Jonathan Neil Gray. Special Constable, Northumbria Police. For services to Policing. (Ponteland, Northumberland)

Margaret Mitford. For services to Education. (Cramlington, Northumberland)

Michael Scott. Special Constable, Northumbria Police. For services to Policing. (Hexham, Northumberland)

QUESTIONS to be put to the Business Chair, a member of the Cabinet or the Chair of any Committee or Sub Committee, in accordance with the Constitution’s Rules of Procedure No.9.

Question 1 from Councillor Wallace to Councillor Ploszaj

Residents in and around the Cambois area constantly read and hear of the new job opportunities in their thousands coming on their doorstep and how this will be transformational in their lives. This part of my Ward is recognised as being low in car ownership. Where travel is necessary to shop, see a doctor, bank, get to school or work and many things most of us take for normal, to learn that the 4x daily bus service no 434, Monday to Friday (not on Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holidays), is to stop running from the 24th July is frankly, unbelievable and sickening for many. Residents and bus users wish, as do I, to know what steps has the administration taken to ensure this service is not lost forever?

Councillor Ploszaj replied that the Go North East 434 bus service was an NCC funded service, which operated 4 return trips per day providing the residents of Cambois with public transport links to local service centres at Bedlington Station and Ashington. In May 2022, Go North East served notice of their intention to withdraw the service with effect from the 24 July 2022, citing increasing operating costs and resourcing issues as the reasons for the withdrawal. Recognising the importance of this service not only to the residents of Cambois but other communities along the route, NCC had agreed a short-term extension to the service up to the 3 September 2022. This would allow sufficient time for officers to undertake a comprehensive re-tendering of the service. Whilst officers could not pre-empt the results of the tender process, the intention was to re-tender this service on a like for like basis. Local members would be kept updated on progress.

Councillor Wallace welcomed this and asked if buses would be available on 26 July for residents. Councillor Ploszaj advised that as far as he knew, they would.

Question 2 from Councillor Robinson to Councillor Horncastle

We have 48 million in the budget for new housing in the county. Will this be social housing at an appropriate cost to tenants?

Councillor Horncastle replied that the £48 million formed part of the Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Plan and he confirmed that this money, with additional grant from Homes England, would be used to support the delivery of new homes that would be owned and managed by the Council, and that all rent levels would be set in accordance with current guidance to ensure they were affordable.

In order to maximise the delivery of affordable housing, it was the Council’s intention to work with partners to ensure that where possible, affordable housing was built by the most appropriate housing provider having regard to the location, or nature and type of housing.

Councillor Robinson commented that he was concerned about what “affordable” actually meant when the market was out of control and he did not feel that 85% would be enough. Councillor Horncastle replied that the Government definition was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Report of Governance Review Task and Finish Group – Progress Update

At its meeting of 8th June 2022, Council considered a report by the Leader and Deputy Leader on the Solace Independent Governance Review (The ‘Caller Review’).  Following this, Council agreed to form a Cross-Party Steering Group on a task and finish basis, to consider the Council’s response to the ‘Caller Review’ and its recommendations. The Task and Finish Steering Group reported back to the County Council on 21st June 2022 (report of the Leader and Deputy Leader). The report on 21st June set out an Initial Plan of Action to implement the Caller Review recommendations. Council considered and agreed the initial Plan of Action and agreed to receive a further report setting out a more detailed timetable and assessment of resources required. This Report sets out the next version of the Action Plan with target dates, Member and Officer leads as well as resources.

Report of Governance Review Task and Finish Group – Progress Update

At its meeting of 8th June 2022, Council considered a report by the Leader and Deputy Leader on the Solace Independent Governance Review (The ‘Caller Review’).

Following this, Council agreed to form a Cross-Party Steering Group on a task and finish basis, to consider the Council’s response to the ‘Caller Review’ and its recommendations. The Task and Finish Steering Group reported back to the County Council on 21st June 2022 (report of the Leader and Deputy Leader). The report on 21st June set out an Initial Plan of Action to implement the Caller Review recommendations. Council considered and agreed the initial Plan of Action and agreed to receive a further report setting out a more detailed timetable and assessment of resources required. This report set out the next version of the Action Plan with target dates, Member and Officer leads as well as resources. Draft terms of reference for the Advisory Board were circulated in the Chamber to all members (copy attached to the sealed minutes).

The Business Chair advised that there was an amendment to the report to add a recommendation 3, which asked Council to approve the establishment of an advisory challenge board and to agree its terms of reference (which had been circulated in the Chamber). The additional recommendation also sought a delegation to the Interim Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the cross party task and finish steering group, to confirm the nominations to the challenge board.

The Leader thanked the Group Leaders for their work on the Action Plan thus far and the support they had given him, stressing that it was important to maintain the pace of progress. He moved the report’s amended recommendations, which was seconded by Councillor Dickinson.

Councillor Fairless Aitken welcomed the report and asked if there was a timeline. The Leader responded that it was hoped to get the Board up and running by August, but this depended on the submission of names and availability. The position would be reviewed in 12 months and if they needed to continue beyond that, then they would.

Councillor Kennedy commented that the Group Leaders and other members had worked well on this and he acknowledged Phil Hunter’s work with the Group.

Councillor Reid agreed and acknowledged the Leadership’s proactiveness in taking responsibility for moving things forward. He hoped the spirit of working together would continue, and asked how members would be recruited to the Board and whether they would be paid as they could be involved for some time on it.

Councillor Morphet added that he was happy to be part of the task and finish group.

Councillor Hill commented that she supported the list of actions which the task and finish group would do but she did have concerns that the Council was not going far enough. Mr Caller had said there was a need for a fundamental reset and she felt all of the problems needed to be acknowledged and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Blyth Relief Road

          The report provides members with :

•         An overview of progress to date on the development of the business case for a new relief road for Blyth which will significantly improve access to the town by all modes.

•         A recommendation for the preferred route alignment to be taken forward to a public engagement exercise.

•         An update on the business case which includes emerging costs, benefits and programme for the scheme.

This report was considered by Cabinet on 12 April 2022. Cabinet request that full Council endorses sign off by the s151 Officer of the Outline Business Case, noting the required County Council match funding commitment and future approval gateways as set out in paragraphs 13 to 15 of the report.

Blyth Relief Road

The report provided members with :

•         An overview of progress to date on the development of the business case for a new relief road for Blyth which will significantly improve access to the town by all modes.

•         A recommendation for the preferred route alignment to be taken forward to a public engagement exercise.

•         An update on the business case which includes emerging costs, benefits and programme for the scheme.

The report had been considered by Cabinet on 12 April 2022, and Cabinet requested that full Council endorse sign off by the s151 Officer of the Outline Business Case, noting the required County Council match funding commitment and future approval gateways as set out in paragraphs 13 to 15 of the report.

The report was introduced by Councillor Ploszaj and he moved the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Dickinson.

Councillor Watson commented that Blyth people were very frustrated that this was taking so long, so she welcomed the report. Route five had previously included a cross town route, but this seemed to have disappeared. Residents were concerned about what had replaced it, because it was felt that it wouldn’t help reduce congestion on Cowpen Road, and she sought assurances that this wouldn’t be the case. She also asked the Administration to lobby for further investment for a foot and cycle bridge across the river to provide access for workers to the British Volt and JDR Cables plants.

Councillor Ploszaj replied that he had been reassured by Highways officers that the design would provide relief for Cowpen Road and Laverock Hall Road, and there would be a public engagement event at the end of the month. The bridge between Blyth and Cambois had been considered as part of the previous discussions about the relief road and there had been some negative feedback from the Environment Agency about that, but he would ask officers to look at it again and respond in writing.

Councillor Morphet was concerned that the report focussed on reducing congestion rather than minimising traffic. He asked if the relief road would have a priority lane for buses, would there be a footway which satisfied Equality Act widths and gave priority to pedestrians at junctions, and would the cycle path include provision for priority to cyclists at junctions. Councillor Ploszaj replied that the priority matters would be part of the detailed design study but he would respond fully in writing.

Councillor Reid referred to the estimate of £44m and asked what element of optimism bias had been included. If it had not been included, he asked when it would be. Councillor Ploszaj replied that there were some contingencies included in the cost but he did expect cost increases to the project as it progressed. Mr Murfin advised members that new business cases did now have to factor in provision for optimal and negative bias.

Councillor Nisbet supported the proposals which would help small businesses which had been suffering from reduced footfall as a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To report the outcomes of the review conducted by the Storm Arwen Task and Finish Group.

The report detailed the outcomes of the review conducted by the Storm Arwen Task and Finish Group.

The report was presented by Councillor Reid. He thanked everyone who had contributed, the members who had been involved and Sean Nicholson and Helen Hinds. This was a good example of how members of all parties could work together and come up with some meaningful recommendations. Efforts had been made to ensure that the recommendations were things which could actually be done. Scrutiny would be revisiting the recommendations in future to monitor how they had been implemented and he hoped other task and finish projects would follow. The main problems had been caused by trees and tree management might need closer investigation. He moved the recommendations and encouraged Scrutiny to come back to them to ensure that they were implemented, and to progress identified actions with other organisations. This was seconded by Councillor Mather.

Councillor Dickinson thanked the Group for its work. It had shown how well Task and Finish Groups could identify the important issues and how members of all parties had different communities to represent with their own different issues to deal with. He paid tribute to Communities Together staff and Council staff and everyone who had mobilised to help communities, as well as the communities themselves. He agreed the recommendations needed to be monitored, and organisations needed to be pressed to ensure that all work resulting from the storm damage was completed. He wanted to see more of this excellent type of work.

Councillor Hill felt this was a constructive report with good actions identified. Regarding the relief effort, she felt there were resources which should be available to help the outlying areas as towns had better resources and were less likely to be cut off.

Councillor Murphy commented that the Plan needed to be adaptable across all weather conditions as extreme heat could also be very dangerous and was becoming a more regular occurrence.

Councillor Horncastle agreed that staff needed to be commended for their efforts but was very disappointed with the criticism Council staff had received from the public which had been totally unfounded. He had witnessed the lengths that staff had gone to support residents in all types of conditions and he wanted to place on record his thanks to all of them.

Councillor Dunn supported the recommendation for the retention of the Community (COVID) Support Officers. They had been very effective during the pandemic and would be invaluable going forward. It was also vital to recognise the value of town and parish councils, and communications with them should be strengthened. Looking forward, some areas were regular flooding spots so a long term plan was needed to improve the current failing infrastructure.

Councillor Robinson felt that the power companies should be looking to improve their infrastructure, rather than maintenance, to improve future resilience.

Councillor Mather reported that he had enjoyed being part of the Task and Finish Group and he endorsed previous comments made regarding the Council’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Independent Members of the Audit Committee

The purpose of the report is to seek Council’s agreement to extend the appointment of the independent co-opted members, currently serving on the County Council’s Audit Committee.

Independent Members of the Audit Committee

The report sought Council’s agreement to extend the appointment of the independent co-opted members, currently serving on the County Council’s Audit Committee.

The Business Chair presented the report. He proposed that the term of office of both co-opted members be extended to 31 July 2024. Councillor Towns, as Vice Chair, was supportive. He moved the recommendations, which was seconded by Councillor Reid.

RESOLVED that Council agree to extend the appointment of Mr Peter Topping as an independent co-opted member of Audit Committee, and Mr Stephen Watson as independent co-opted Chair of Audit Committee, for a period of two years to 31 July 2024.

TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE CABINET MEETINGS HELD ON:-

(1)      Tuesday 12 April 2022

(2)      Tuesday 26 April 2022

(3)      Tuesday 10 May 2022

(4)      Tuesday 7 June 2022

RESOLVED that the following minutes of Cabinet be received:-

(1) Tuesday 12 April 2022

(2) Tuesday 26 April 2022

(3) Tuesday 10 May 2022

(4) Tuesday 7 June 2022 

(1)      Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC

(2)      Family and Children’s Services OSC

(3)      Communities and Place OSC

(4)      Health and Wellbeing OSC

(5)      Health and Wellbeing Board

(6)      Audit Committee

(1) Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC

These were presented by Councillor Bawn.

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 Daley. 

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.5.1 (Development of the Potland Burn Biodiversity Net Gain Site), Councillor Gallacher reported that he had contacted both Parish Councils involved and there had been no communication with either of them. He asked that this be corrected.

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

(4) Health and Wellbeing OSC

These were presented by Councillor Jones.

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

(5) Health and Wellbeing Board

These were presented by Councillor Sanderson.

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

(6) Audit Committee

These were presented by Councillor Oliver.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Audit Committee be received.

To note the Delegated Decisions taken since those reported to County Council on Wednesday 5 January 2022.

Council was asked to note the Delegated Decisions taken since those reported to County Council on Wednesday 5 January 2022.

RESOLVED that the delegated decision be noted.

Registering Interests – Membership of Organisations

At the meeting of the Council on 4th of May 2022, the Leader of the Council requested advice on the requirement to register membership of the Freemasons and similar organisations. This report sets out the legal position and suggests options for members consideration.

Registering Interests – Membership of Organisations

At the meeting of the Council on 4th of May 2022, the Leader of the Council requested advice on the requirement to register membership of the Freemasons and similar organisations. The report set out the legal position and suggested options for members consideration.

The Leader introduced the report and referred to the additional advice regarding declarations which members had been provided with. The recommendations were in the report for members to decide upon. He proposed that Council suspend Council Procedure Rule 14.2 for the reasons set out in paragraph 11 of the report, which was seconded by Councillor Reid.

RESOLVED that Council Procedure Rule 14.2 be suspended for the reasons set out in paragraph 11 of the report.

Councillor Reid moved that the Council adopt the revised wording as detailed in Appendix 1, which was seconded by Councillor Hill.

Councillor Wearmouth proposed an amendment as follows:-

“to declare administrator, editor, and similar rights for all online and social media where it is not clear from the information freely available to the public. This includes all websites, Facebook profiles, pages, groups etc, twitter accounts, Instagram accounts and all other such media”. This was seconded by the Leader.

Councillor Hill fully supported the work which had been done on this and welcomed the proposal to include membership of all organisations. She also supported the amendment but was interested to have the Monitoring Officer’s advice on it, and also felt that a timeframe needed to be put on it.

Councillor Wearmouth replied that he felt it should be immediate on the vote being agreed.

Councillor Murphy questioned how this could possibly be policed. Councillor Wearmouth replied that hopefully members would be honest, and if they weren’t then the onus would be on them.

Councillor Reid sought clarity about whether this amendment to his motion needed to be accepted by him. The Monitoring Officer advised that with regard to Councillor Hill, the Council could agree any other registrable interests which weren’t in the statute as long as they were in line with openness and transparency. Councillors should adhere to this in line with the Nolan principles. Page 66 paragraph 13 onwards provided the guidance on this so it was lawful to put forward that amendment. Regarding Councillor Reid’s point, members were now debating Councillor Wearmouth’s amendment and Councillor Reid could accept that or not.

Councillor Oliver welcomed these developments and felt any transparency campaigners should support them. It was important to stamp out on bad social media practice. When it was hidden behind anonymous accounts it was particularly nasty, and he hoped all members would support it.

Councillor Ezhilchelvan was concerned about the proposed amendment as he could not see how it would be enforced. There would need to be a clear mechanism for that. Also, the untruths spread by anonymous blogs should be fought with truths. If a councillor’s wife became an admin of a blog, should that be declared as well? The amendment was going too  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.