Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Bawn, Bridgett, Carr, Darwin, Dickinson, Dodd, Dunbar, Dunn, Ezhilchelvan, Jackson, Scott and Wallace.

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:-

(a) Wednesday 6 July 2022 (see pages 11-30)

(b) Wednesday 27 July 2022 (extraordinary meeting) (see pages 31-40)

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

(a)      Wednesday 6 July 2022 (subject to the inclusion of Councillor A. Watson in the attendance); and

(b) Wednesday 27 July 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 a 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.

Councillor Swinbank declared an interest in respect of Item 7 on the agenda (Motion No.2) as a member of the NIFCA Board.

To receive an update on devolution and the Caller Review from the Leader

The Business Chair reminded members that a member induction refresher event was planned for 2 November. There were also a number of policy briefings planned which he recommended to members.

The Leader informed members that work was progressing well on the Caller Review. A member oversight group was meeting every month to monitor progress and the Challenge Board would be starting its work soon.

Work on devolution had halted following the election of a new prime minister so he did not have any progress to report. He paid tribute to the other leaders in the LA6 who were working well together and once he had further information to share, he would do so.    

Question 1 from Councillor Castle to the Leader

Councillor Sanderson, we all recognise that increasing economic pressures will hit the poorest in our community hardest. I commend our recent approach to identifying inequalities and possible solutions but ask that you inform the Council what measures the Council is able to implement promptly that will support those most in need of help 

The Leader replied that addressing inequalities in Northumberland was an immediate and longer-term challenge. The current economic situation required the Council to work collaboratively and at pace to best support households most in need. Anyone looking for support was encouraged to contact Northumberland Communities Together. A lot of help had been given to those who had needed it particularly during the pandemic and this work continued.

In addition, officers were finalising a poverty and hardship action plan with a robust communications strategy and training tools – simple resources for everyone to use to support residents and for residents to support themselves. The Council would be pulling its business intelligence to ensure the resources available were where they were needed the most. 

Councillor Castle asked if members identified any residents who needed help should contact NCT in the first instance. The Leader confirmed this was the approach which should be taken.

Question 2 from Councillor Fairless Aitken to Councillor Horncastle

Since the beginning of the year Hexham, along with other towns and villages across the county, has seen a distinct rise in instances of anti-social behaviour. From serious acts of vandalism, like the attack on Hexham’s bandstand, to the damaging of cars lawfully parked on our streets. 

Will the administration undertake to work with Town and Parish councils to facilitate the positioning of CCTV, where appropriate, and to allow Members small schemes money to be used to purchase equipment?

Will the administration also undertake to lobby the PCC to allocate more resources to rural policing and arrange for a meaningful meeting with senior police officers and the LAC’s to explore how better they can deter and respond to the scourge of anti-social behaviour? I despair of our rural police stations being '9-5' rather than round the clock as they used to be and should be.

Councillor Horncastle replied that anti-social behaviour remained of concern and unfortunately there had been a small increase within the Hexham area, but he was pleased to be able to advise that those responsible for the damage to the bandstand had been apprehended by the police, and the level of ASB had reduced in Hexham.  At a local level, ASB would continue to be monitored through the Hexham Victim Offender Location meeting, where it was a standing agenda item.

As part of the recent Strategic Needs Assessment undertaken by the Safer Northumberland Partnership, ASB had been identified as one of the key priorities, and officers were actively working with partners to develop interventions to reduce the impact of ASB on communities. A pilot had also recently been launched with the Office of the Police and Crime  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Motion No.1

In accordance with Council Rules of Procedure No.10, Councillor Pattison to move the following motion, received by the Democratic Services Manager on 9 August 2022:-

“Newcastle upon Tyne City Council has made the shortlist to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023. Sadly, this is due to war torn Ukraine being unable to host it themselves due to the Russian invasion.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to welcome a huge number of international visitors, performers and media to the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

If Newcastle's bid is successful, this would hugely benefit our own beautiful County of Northumberland and we would be delighted to welcome European visitors to come and explore our beautiful coastline and countryside and enjoy the County's full and rich heritage.

I propose that the Leader write to Newcastle upon Tyne City Council offering Northumberland County Council's support and good wishes for a successful and winning bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest in the Toon in 2023”.

Motion No. 2

In accordance with Council Rules of Procedure No.10, Councillor Hardy to move the following motion, received by the Democratic Services Manager on 9 August 2022:-

“This motion calls for Northumberland County Council to reply to the consultation on DEFRA proposals to install a Highly Protected Marine Area, a fishing ban, around Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands.

This proposals will have a devastating effect on Holy Island where there has been fishing since long before the Lindisfarne Gospels were written. Fishing is an integral part of the life and soul of the island. The proposal would threaten the livelihood of the young families who rely on fishing, making the island a less attractive place to live.

Northumberland County Council has done a fantastic job promoting tourism. Our pubs and restaurants are full of people who want to enjoy sustainable local crab and lobster. This proposal would close the main fishing grounds and make restaurants source shellfish further away.

This is an issue for our whole county. Fisherman from up and down the coast fish this area. If local fisherman are banned from here, they will move to other parts of coast, displacing the fisherman there and putting pressure on fish stocks elsewhere. It would have repercussions from Berwick to Blyth.

We all want to protect our seas. But this is not the answer. These small boats follow the rules to make our seas better for their children and grandchildren to follow them.

Northumberland County Council shall respond to the consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas rejecting the proposals on environmental, social and economic grounds”.

Motion No.1

In accordance with Council Rules of Procedure No.10, Councillor Pattison moved the following motion, received by the Democratic Services Manager on 9 August 2022:-

“Newcastle upon Tyne City Council has made the shortlist to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023. Sadly, this is due to war torn Ukraine being unable to host it themselves due to the Russian invasion.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to welcome a huge number of international visitors, performers and media to the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

If Newcastle's bid is successful, this would hugely benefit our own beautiful County of Northumberland and we would be delighted to welcome European visitors to come and explore our beautiful coastline and countryside and enjoy the County's full and rich heritage.

I propose that the Leader write to Newcastle upon Tyne City Council offering Northumberland County Council's support and good wishes for a successful and winning bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest in the Toon in 2023”.

This was seconded by

It was RESOLVED that that the Leader write to Newcastle upon Tyne City Council offering Northumberland County Council's support and good wishes for a successful and winning bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest in the Toon in 2023.

Motion No. 2

In accordance with Council Rules of Procedure No.10, Councillor Hardy moved the following motion, received by the Democratic Services Manager on 9 August 2022:-

“This motion calls for Northumberland County Council to reply to the consultation on DEFRA proposals to install a Highly Protected Marine Area, a fishing ban, around Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands.

This proposals will have a devastating effect on Holy Island where there has been fishing since long before the Lindisfarne Gospels were written. Fishing is an integral part of the life and soul of the island. The proposal would threaten the livelihood of the young families who rely on fishing, making the island a less attractive place to live.

Northumberland County Council has done a fantastic job promoting tourism. Our pubs and restaurants are full of people who want to enjoy sustainable local crab and lobster. This proposal would close the main fishing grounds and make restaurants source shellfish further away.

This is an issue for our whole county. Fisherman from up and down the coast fish this area. If local fisherman are banned from here, they will move to other parts of coast, displacing the fisherman there and putting pressure on fish stocks elsewhere. It would have repercussions from Berwick to Blyth.

We all want to protect our seas. But this is not the answer. These small boats follow the rules to make our seas better for their children and grandchildren to follow them.

Northumberland County Council shall respond to the consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas rejecting the proposals on environmental, social and economic grounds”.

This was seconded by Councillor Renner Thompson.

Councillor Cartie commented that this would affect a lot of other areas along the Northumberland coast, not just in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Northumberland Inequalities Plan 2022 - 2032

To present the Northumberland Inequalities Plan 2022 – 2032 and share with Full Council the proposals for system development and enablers, focused areas of action and short, medium and long-term indicators of progress. The report has been developed as a result of a series of locally based engagement workshops, triggered by the Leader’s commitment to prioritise reducing inequalities, with a call to our partners to tackle this key issue for the benefit of Northumberland residents. The report is a statement of intent to work on these actions and deliver better outcomes over the next 10 years. The report recognises the importance of governance and accountability, requesting that a cross party members group is established to monitor the progress of the plan (see pages 41-70).

Northumberland Inequalities Plan 2022 - 2032?

The report presented the Northumberland Inequalities Plan 2022 – 2032 and shared with Council the proposals for system development and enablers, focused areas of action and short, medium and long-term indicators of progress. The report had been developed as a result of a series of locally based engagement workshops, triggered by the Leader’s commitment to prioritise reducing inequalities, with a call to partners to tackle this key issue for the benefit of Northumberland residents. The report was a statement of intent to work on these actions and deliver better outcomes over the next 10 years. The report recognised the importance of governance and accountability, requesting that a cross party members group be established to monitor the progress of the plan.

Members received a presentation on the key point of the Plan from Liz Morgan, Executive Director of Public Health and Community Services.

•         Councillor Morphet felt members should not underestimate the size of the challenge. The Plan was just the first step in reversing the harm done by many years of austerity but it was a step in the right direction. A critical element would be the provision of increased support to town and parish councils and community groups. His Group welcomed the plan for a transport equity audit. Given that 22% of households in Northumberland didn’t own a car, improvements to public transport and active travel were critical steps on the path to equality. His group also welcomed the proposal for community allotments.

•         Councillor Hunter asked how the Council would actually deliver what was in the Plan. Only the voices of those who responded would be heard and as many parish councils were struggling to attract councillors, they couldn’t always be relied upon to reach right across the community.

•         Councillor Dale queried how this would relate to the Combined Authority wellbeing framework already in existence.    

The Leader replied that the policy conference on the 12th October would allow members to feed in their ideas. He acknowledged that some of the proposals would take some time to implement but there was some funding available and a start had to be made. There was good joint working already ongoing on a number of projects with the Combined Authority and there was no reason why these should not continue.

In response to Councillor Hunter, Liz Morgan replied that in conducting the residents’ survey, officers wanted to ensure that they did hear from those that didn’t make themselves heard as often so a variety of approaches would be taken.

•         Councillor Ball reported that 2 in 5 children in the north east were in poverty. She fully supported the Plan taking things into the longer term because this was not just a current issue and it was time now to get on with it. She looked forward to working with all members to make a difference to those who needed it.

•         Councillor Pattison commented that the Council was extremely committed to closing the inequalities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Revised Executive Management Structure

The purpose of this report is to advise Council that due to the sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen, and the subsequent respectful mourning period until after the state funeral on 19th September, the meeting for consideration of this report by the Council’s Staff and Appointments Committee on 9th September 2022 was postponed (see pages 71-74).

Revised Executive Management Structure

The report advised Council that due to the sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen, and the subsequent respectful mourning period until after the state funeral on 19^th September, the meeting for consideration of the report by the Council’s Staff and Appointments Committee on 9^th September 2022 was postponed.

The report of the Staff and Appointments Committee which met on 20 September 2022 to consider this matter had been circulated (copy attached to the sealed minutes). The meeting had been delayed due to the passing of HM the Queen.

The Leader presented the report and endorsed its proposals. There had already been a good response to the vacancies and this was the next step in moving forward. He moved the report’s recommendations which was seconded by Councillor Chicken.

Councillor Morphet asked how the remaining £697,000 worth of savings to be found from tier three would involve. The Interim Chief Executive replied that some of these savings had already been identified. Tiers three and four were those below Executive Director level i.e. service directors and heads of service. Posts at that level would now be aligned to the new structure and he expected that there would be some savings made there. There had already been some approaches from staff at that level about moving on.

Councillor Renner Thompson supported the new structure, in particular the separation of Children’s and Adults Services with a dedicated head of service for each very large area of Council activity.

The Leader reported that he had invited Group Leaders to participate in the interview process.

RESOLVED that the recommendations from the Staff and Appointments Committee held on the 20^th of September 2022 be approved as follows; 

(a)      Approve the revised Tier 1 & 2 structure as detailed in Appendix 1 of the Staff and Appointment Committee report. The structure will be led by a Chief Executive who will also be the Council’s statutory Head of Paid Service and will also encompass the role of Electoral Returning Officer. As agreed at the Council’s Staff and appointments Committee on 15th August 2022 this role is currently being externally recruited to;

(b)      That the Executive Director roles below are established at Band 18. This is an equivalent number of Executive Directors that were in place prior to the current interim arrangements that came into force in September 2021. All roles will be subject to external recruitment processes as there are no officers currently occupying substantive Executive Director roles.  

a.    Executive Director Place & Regeneration  

b.    Executive Director Transformation& Resources (S 151 Officer)  

c.     Executive Director Adults, Ageing & Wellbeing (DAS) 

d.    Executive Director Children, Young People & Education (DCS) 

e.     Executive Director Public Health, Inequalities & Stronger Communities (DPH); and

(c)      Agree the remuneration for all the roles in 2. above as identified within the report to the Staff and Appointments Committee contained in Appendix A. The salaries for these posts are set at over £100,000 and therefore need the formal approval of both the Staff and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Voluntary Redundancy of the Director of Transformation

The purpose of this report is to advise Full Council that due to the sad passing of her Majesty the Queen and the subsequent respectful mourning period until after the state funeral on 19th September the arrangements for the approval of this report to the Council’s Staff and Appointments Committee have been delayed from 9th September 2022 (see pages 75-78)

Voluntary Redundancy of the Director of Transformation  

The report advised Council that due to the sad passing of her Majesty the Queen and the subsequent respectful mourning period until after the state funeral on 19^th September the arrangements for the approval of the report to the Council’s Staff and Appointments Committee had been delayed from 9^th September 2022. The report of the Staff and Appointments Committee which met on 20 September 2022 to consider this matter had been circulated (copy attached to the sealed minutes).

The Leader proposed the report, which was seconded by Councillor Wearmouth. The Interim Chief Executive detailed the key points. He assured members that this settlement agreement was not a non-disclosure agreement and reflected normal employment practice. 

Councillor Oliver asked if there was a non-compete clause in the agreement. He felt there should be some sort of clause preventing people from working on an ongoing basis in this business. The Monitoring Officer advised that Ms Joynson was an officer of the Council and therefore there would not be such terms in the settlement agreement.  A settlement agreement usually included a non-disclosure clause and whilst that would not be the case here, there would be a mutual respect of both the Council’s and Ms Joynson’s confidentiality.

Councillor Beynon asked this was a request for voluntary redundancy why was the payment, including pension, being made, and he asked if the Administration had sanctioned the appointment. The Interim Chief Executive replied that VR was sometimes offered as an inducement and in those cases it was reasonable to offer the employee a payment as per the pay policy. The Leader added that the Administration had not been involved in the appointment.

The Monitoring Officer added that at that time, some of the officer employment rules were not being carried out which would have involved the Staff and Appointments Committee for appointments at that level.  Some had subsequently been ratified by the StAC when this had been picked up. Moving forward, officers at Chief and Deputy Chief level would go through that process.

Councillor Murphy asked, if someone was too unwell to return to work, would the normal procedure not be through either ill health retirement or the capability procedure. She queried why this route was being taken.

The Monitoring Officer advised that the Director was off work ill but the reasons for that could not be discussed in open session.  However, this was a procedural matter and StAC had approved it. The reason it had come to Council was because of the Council’s pay policy required it due to the figures involved. This was the best option for the individual concerned and the organisation.

On being put to the vote there voted FOR: a substantial majority; AGAINST: 1; ABSTENTIONS: 5.

It was therefore RESOLVED that Council approve the recommendation from the Staff and Appointments Committee that the request for voluntary redundancy by the Director of Transformation be approved.  

(1)      Tuesday 12 July 2022 (see pages 79-86)

(1)      Tuesday 12 July 2022

RESOLVED that the minutes be received. 

(1)      Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC (see pages 87-94)

(2)      Family and Children’s Services OSC                  (see pages 95-100)

(3)      Communities and Place OSC                             (see pages 101- 110)

(4)      Health and Wellbeing OSC                               (see pages 111-118)

(5)      Health and Wellbeing Board                              (see pages 119-132)

(6)      Audit Committee                                               (see pages 133-142)

(7)      Standards Committee                                        (see pages 143-146)

(1)         Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC      

These were presented by Councillor Beynon.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received.  

(2)         Family and Children’s Services OSC

These were presented by Councillor Daley.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received.

(3)         Communities and Place OSC     

These were presented by Councillor Reid.

With regard to Minute No. 14.1 Fleet Replacement Update, Councillor Gallacher welcomed the delivery of the potholing vehicle and suggested to the Leader that more than one person be trained on new equipment as the one person who was trained now had covid. This could also have been applied to the new gulley cleaners so that all eight vehicles could have been used. Councillor Dale supported this and asked Councillor Reid if the gulley cleaning rota could be looked at specifically.

Councillor Reid responded that this was not an opportunity to reopen the debate which had been had at the Committee. Members were just being asked to agree the minutes.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received.

(4)         Health and Wellbeing OSC

These were presented by Councillor Jones.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received

(5)         Health and Wellbeing Board 

These were presented by Councillor Pattison.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received.

(6)         Audit Committee

These were presented by Councillor Oliver.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received.

(7)         Standards Committee       

These were presented by Councillor Flux. He advised that himself, along with the Chair Joe Jackson and Councillor Dunn had met and appointed to two of the three town and parish council representatives.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received.