Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Bridgett, Cartie, Clark, Dunn, Fairless-Aitken, Hill, Ploszaj, Purvis and Towns.

Minutes of the meeting of County Council held on Wednesday 14 June 2023, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record (see pages 11-22).

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of County Council held on Wednesday 14 June 2023, be confirmed as a true record.

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

1. 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. 

2. 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. 

3. 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. 

4. 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. 

5. 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 Chair reported that a number of people connected with Northumberland had received honours in HM the King’s Birthday Honours as follows:-

Professor Derek Alderson, Chair, Centre for Perioperative (PERI – OPERATIVE) Care and lately President, Royal College of Surgeons of England. For services to Surgery (CBE)

Dr Alice Karen Good, Founder, Sunflower Sisters. For services to Ukrainian Refugees (MBE).

Reverend Fiona Jean Sample, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Oswin Project. For services to the Rehabilitation of Offenders. (MBE).

Donna Marie Swan, Founder, Calmer Therapy. For services to Children with Special Educational Needs and their families in North East England (MBE).

Vikki Ewen, For services to the community in Coquetdale, Morpeth, Northumberland. (BEM).

He also reported with sadness the recent death of former County Councillor Anne Patterson who had passed away on 12 June 2023. Anne had represented the Morpeth South Ward from 1993 to 2001 and he invited Council to join him in observing a minute's silence in her memory.

The Leader also made some announcements. Firstly, he congratulated all young people across the county for their tremendous exam results during this summer. Nearly 5000 learners had completed Year 11 and 13 studies with external examinations this year.

Overall, the Northumberland provisional results were in line with a return to the pre pandemic outcomes from 2019 (the last year of similar exam procedures) which indicated that Northumberland continued to bounce back.

The quality of education in Northumberland had never been higher according to Ofsted, with 94% of schools now graded good or better. This placed the Authority joint 2nd in the North East, 4% higher than the North East average and 6% higher than the national average, and he praised the efforts of young people, teachers and Headteachers, parents and the Education Team working closely with Councillor Renner Thompson.

He referred to the Government announcement the previous day regarding the postponement of the dualling of the A1. This was very disappointing.

This was also the first meeting of Council since Councillor Veronica Jones re-joined the Council’s Cabinet.? Councillor Jones would bring a wealth of experience, calmness, and common sense to the Improving Public Health and Wellbeing, and he thanked Councillor Ferguson for his work on the portfolio. 

The Leader also welcomed the new Chief Fire Officer, Graeme Binning.?Graeme had spent recent months working with Paul Hedley on his handover as Paul approached his well-earned retirement.

A forward programme of policy conferences had been developed for the rest of the year which would be shared with all members.? These had proved a real success and a great opportunity to input into policy development. He advised members that there would be a session on corporate parenting before the next meeting of Council in November.

To receive questions provided on notice from and to provide answers to the public in accordance with the Council’s Procedure Rules.

No public questions had been received.

To receive questions provided on notice from and to provide answers toMembers of the Council in accordance with the Council’s Procedure Rules.

Question 1 from Councillor Carr to the Leader

I would like to express my thanks to the Council after the recent refurbishment of Blyth's Iconic Beach Huts in my ward. The rejuvenation has breathed new life into what I consider to be Blyth's finest asset. But I would like to see the same effort put in to refresh the Beach Promenade as well. It's an incredibly popular spot for tourism in Northumberland and it needs care and attention. So, I would like to ask if the Council can confirm whether there are any investment plans for Blyth's beach promenade? One that would be on par with the private development opposite.

The Leader agreed that Blyth beach was a great asset for the County and the beach huts were of great value, which was why the Administration had invested in their refurbishment. There would be a project starting soon to revitalise the beach area and the Council was also working with Ridley Park volunteers and on the Isabella Heap Country Park. More of these initiatives would come forward when the new Environment policy was launched.

Councillor Carr welcomed this news and looked forward to any progress made with the beach promenade.

Question 2 from Councillor Hill to the Leader

Councillor Hill had submitted apologies so a written response would be made. 

Question 3 from Councillor Taylor to the Leader (for Councillor Ploszaj)

With the ongoing development of Bedlington’s Town Centre, could you please outline NCC’s plans for the next phase once the four shops and 6 apartments are complete?

The Leader replied that the remaining sites were being actively marketed. Work had been continuing with stakeholders on a Place Plan for the town which would be brought forward soon.  The Council was also working with Advance Northumberland and partners to support the development of projects which built on current investments underway, including the reopening of the train station as part of the Northumberland Line.

The Council had secured Government Levelling up Funds to provide new and upgraded active travel infrastructure in Bedlington which would enhance the east to west link across the town. This scheme will connect the western extent of Bedlington, key residential and employment areas with the proposed Northumberland Line train station and the eastern coastal area. Additional benefits to this route included a connection towards schools across the town to facilitate active travel. The estimated cost of this scheme was £7,716,000.

There were also several capital investment schemes in development within the Council’s Parks Enhancement Programme. These included improvements to the café and seating areas and the provision of a ‘bouldering course’ to improve the visitor experience and offer at Plessey Woods Country Park. Approval had also been given to the creation of a QEII Memorial rose garden. He confirmed the Administration was committed to Bedlington and focussed on projects which would enhance the town.

Councillor Taylor appreciated the work which was going on behind the scenes. She felt there was a need to get information out to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Annual Portfolio Report – Improving our Roads and Highways

This is the Annual Report from the Cabinet Member for Improving our Roads and Highways. The Report contains issues that set the context for delivery of the Portfolio. It highlights achievements over the past year and, outlines the areas of focus for the coming year (see pages 23-30).

Annual Portfolio Report – Improving our Roads and Highways

The Annual Report from the Cabinet Member for Improving our Roads and Highways contained issues that set the context for delivery of the Portfolio. It highlighted achievements over the past year and outlined the areas of focus for the coming year.

The Chair advised members that he would be limited members to ten minutes for questions and one question per member on the report.

Councillor Riddle introduced his report which covered work for the past year. During this year, there had been considerable inflationary pressures but the service had tried to innovate and secure value for money as much as possible. The Local Transport Plan programme totalled £23.4m and there had been some challenges to deal with in the past year. Much of the investment was steered by the Transport Asset Management Plan and that had been refreshed this year. Some new back office systems had also been implemented. He highlighted some of the other key points of the report and thanked all of the staff for their hard work.

Councillor Dickinson welcomed the report. He asked whether future portfolio holder reports would detail some of the challenges which the services had faced as staff had done a tremendous job to deliver what they had with limited resources. He asked whether the economic impact work of dualling the A1 which had been done some time ago needed to be refreshed, bearing in mind the recent Government announcement about a further delay to the dualling of the A1.

The Leader responded that this matter was not in the report but the Council would work together to maintain the campaign and to encourage the DoT to spend as much money as other Government departments had done in Northumberland to ensure the work would begin next year.

Councillor Kennedy felt the A1 needed to feature in the report as part of the strategic vision for the County. There was much to celebrate in the Portfolio Holder’s report but he asked if the A1 could feature in a Local Transport Plan because of the significance of this route through the County.

The Leader responded that this was not possible because the A1 was not the responsibility of the County Council. The role for the Council was to remain positive, to work together and to demonstrate to Government that the significant funding coming into the Council should also be spread across the A1.

Councillor Reid asked that future reports include the challenges within the portfolio. Councillor Riddle commented that the report reflected the good work which had gone on in the service and there were other avenues available to raise the challenges. The purpose of the report was to inform members about achievements and he was proud of it.

Councillor Swinburn welcomed the FixMyStreet initiative which provided a direct link for both members and residents to report issues. He asked if there would be some performance data available in the future. Councillor Riddle replied that there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive a report from the Chair of the Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC (see pages 31-32).

Council was asked to receive a report from the Chair of the Corporate Services and Economic Growth OSC. The report was presented by Councillor Bawn. This was part of the new reporting arrangements from Scrutiny to Council.

The three main issues which would be the focus of the Committee’s attention in the coming months were regeneration, BEST delivery and the capital programme. Regular updates were also now provided from Advance Northumberland.

He highlighted some of the areas of work which the Committee had looked at in detail.

Councillor Dickinson asked whether, given the timetable of meetings for the Committee and the current financial challenges, the Chair felt the Committee was meeting enough. Councillor Bawn responded that there was an annual budget meeting and regular financial performance reports were received. Additional meetings were called as necessary.

Councillor Kennedy felt more detail was needed on debt recovery to explain the size of the problem. Councillor Bawn responded that the benchmarking on debt recovery showed that the Authority was performing well and that there was not a specific problem. Detailed figures could be provided.

Councillor Reid asked the Scrutiny Chair whether he felt this part of the Scrutiny process served any purpose in terms of the weight given to recommendations by Cabinet. Councillor Bawn responded that the Administration had embarked on a review of Scrutiny to make it work in a more effective way and to get away from the pre-Scrutiny process. The revised way of working allowed Scrutiny to both help frame policy at an earlier stage and to review what decisions had been made and how they had worked.

Councillor Dale felt more work needed to be done to reduce the large number of current vacancies which was affecting service delivery, particularly in council tax. Councillor Bawn replied that work continued to monitor vacancies. If there was a specific issue, this could be raised with the S151 Officer or himself.

Councillor Wallace commented that it was three years ago that the announcement had been made about British Volt coming to Cambois. He asked when he would be informed about work actually coming to the site, so he could answer residents’ questions.

Councillor Bawn responded that things were going on but he wasn’t able to say when there would be a resolution to everything. He understood it was frustrating, but this was in the hands of others. As soon as there was something to report, this would come to Committee.

Councillor Wilczek asked why £250,000 was not being spent in the parks and green spaces programme. There was a great need for basic investment in play parks and the country park in her ward by the Council so why was £250,000 unspent?

Councillor Bawn replied that the actual parks were an issue for Communities and Place OSC but regarding the finance, there had been delays with contractors which meant that the budget hadn’t yet been spent. The position would be monitored and the budget would be used.

Political Proportionality

To determine the political proportionality of the registered political groups on the council and to allocate seats on committees in accordance with that proportionality in accordance with the provisions of Sections 15 and 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (see pages 33-42).

Political Proportionality

Council was asked to determine the political proportionality of the registered political groups on the Council and to allocate seats on committees in accordance with that proportionality in accordance with the provisions of Sections 15 and 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

The report’s recommendations were proposed by Councillor Wearmouth and seconded by Councillor Reid.

RESOLVED that:

(a)      Council notes that following the notification by the Labour and Independent Group Leaders of changes to the number in the Labour and Independent groups, the total number of councillors in each political group on the County Council is now Conservative 33, Labour 19, Independent 8, Liberal Democrat 4, Green 2 and 1 un-grouped member;

(b)      Council confirms that the political proportionality of the Groups is as follows: Conservative 49.25%, Labour 28.36%, Independent 11.94%, Liberal Democrat 5.97%, Green 2.99% and un-grouped 1.49%;

(c)      Council agrees to continue to use the method for determining allocations to Committees as agreed by Full Council at its meeting of 30 March 2022;

(d)      Council approves the provisions of Appendix 1 which sets out the proportional allocation of places on committees in accordance with the proportionality approved above;

(e)      Council agrees the allocation of seats to Northumberland County principal/decision making Committees set out in Appendix 2 to this report;

(f)       Council agrees allocations to working groups set out in Appendix 3 to this report; and

(g)      Council authorises the Director of Law and Corporate Governance, in consultation with the Group Leaders, to give effect to the wishes of the Group Leaders to fill the committee places allocated to their respective Groups in accordance with the provisions of Sections 15 and 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.  

Establishment of the Rights of Way Committee and Other Governance Matters

1. To make arrangements for the discharge of the non-executive functions of the County Council through the appointment of the Rights of Way Committee, following the LAC Review undertaken earlier this year and agreed by Council in June, to appoint Members to that committee in accordance with the proportionality of the Council, including the Chair and Vice Chair, and to agree its terms of reference. 

2. To receive the name of the Cabinet Member for Improving Public Health and Wellbeing. 

3. To appoint a number of Chair and Vice Chair places on Committees. 

4. To nominate members to the outside bodies listed in paragraph 5.3 (see pages 43-48).

Establishment of the Rights of Way Committee and Other Governance Matters

Council was asked:

1.       To make arrangements for the discharge of the non-executive functions of the County Council through the appointment of the Rights of Way Committee, following the LAC Review undertaken earlier this year and agreed by Council in June, to appoint Members to that committee in accordance with the proportionality of the Council, including the Chair and Vice Chair, and to agree its terms of reference.

2.       To receive the name of the Cabinet Member for Improving Public Health and Wellbeing.

3.       To appoint a number of Chair and Vice Chair places on Committees.

4.       To nominate members to the outside bodies listed in paragraph 5.3.

Councillor Dale asked a question about whether Councillor Jones should be Chair, or Vice Chair of the Inequalities Working Group, as the report indicated. It was confirmed that Council was being asked to appoint her as Chair.

The report’s recommendations, as amended above, were moved by Councillor Bawn and seconded by Councillor Dale.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)      a Rights of Way Committee be established, with the size and terms of reference as detailed in paragraph 5.1 of the report, and Councillor Hutchinson and Councillor Wallace be elected Chair and Vice Chair respectively;

(b)      the appointment of Councillor Jones as Cabinet Member for Improving Public Health and Wellbeing by the Leader be noted;

(c)      the following members be elected to the positions detailed below:

Councillor Richard Dodd as Chair of Health and Wellbeing OSC

Councillor Eve Chicken as Vice Chair of FACS OSC 

Councillor Catherine Seymour as Vice Chair of Licensing/Licensing and Regulatory Committees

Councillor Anna Watson as Vice Chair of the Local Plan Working Group 

Councillor Veronica Jones as Chair of the Inequalities Working Group.

(d)      the following nominations to outside bodies be made:-

Rural Services Network – G. Sanderson, J. Riddle (sub)

Northumberland Coast AONB – L. Bowman to replace M. Murphy

North East Combined Authority – L. Grimshaw to replace M. Murphy and A. Wallace to replace L. Grimshaw as the sub; and

(e)      the Director of Law and Corporate Governance be authorised, in consultation with the appropriate Group Leader(s), to make any changes to memberships of the main outside bodies/ joint bodies approved by Council, which may become necessary during the course of 2023/24.

Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel

To consider the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel, to be presented by the Allison Thompson, who acted as Chair for this Review and decide if any or all of its recommendations should be adopted (see pages 49-62).

Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel

Council was asked to consider the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel, and to decide if any or all of its recommendations should be adopted.

Councillor Morphet asked about recommendations 10 and 11 in the report which seemed to duplicate other recommendations in the report. The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised that they were slightly separate and flowed from the report and should be retained.

Councillor Dale referred to paragraph 6.7 of the report regarding the link to the staff pay and asked if the Deputy Monitoring Officer could recommend to the IRP that this be continued. The DMO replied that this was not within his power. The IRP made recommendations to Council, which then made decisions on those recommendations. Councillor Wearmouth added that the IRP would consult on any future changes with all members.

Councillor Dickinson asked whether there was a timescale for a full review. The DMO suggested that it was likely to be time for the next financial year.

The Leader proposed the report’s recommendations, which was seconded by Councillor J. Watson.

Councillor Dickinson commented that he had found the process with the IRP very professional and robust and that it was important that whilst members could not make recommendations to the IRP, they were able to express their views.

Councillor Wearmouth thanked the Chair and the Panel for their work.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)      the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel be adopted, and the Panel be commissioned to conduct a Full Review of the Members Allowance Scheme; and

(b)      the Constitution of the Council be updated with a revised Member’s Allowance Scheme to reflect any necessary changes approved by Council.