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.
Minutes:
Question 1 from Councillor Oliver to the Leader
What are the correct council processes for the appointment, termination and agreement of significant contractual or remuneration variations for statutory and non-statutory chief and deputy officers (as defined by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989)?
The Leader responded that the Council had set up the following Committees -???
1. Dismissal Advisory Committee - to provide independent advice to full Council in relation to any proposal to dismiss the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer or Section 151?Officer.?
2. Employment Appeals Committee - to consider and deal with disciplinary action and appeals from Senior Officers, including matters relating to the Councils Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer.?
3. Staff and Appointments Committee - this Committee considers and determines the overall scheme and policies in relation to employee terms and conditions and deal with the appointment of senior officers including making recommendations to Council on the appointment of the Head of Paid Service.?
?
The process for the recruitment and appointment of the Head of Paid Service, Chief Officers and Deputy Chief Officers was carried out in accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules in page 85/86 of the Constitution.? The process for dismissal was also subject to these Rules.?? For the purpose of the Rules - the Chief Officers were the Head of Paid Service and Executive Directors.? Deputy Chief Officers are Directors, Associate Directors, Service Heads and the? Chief Fire Officer.?
?
Under the Local Government Act 1989? “chief officer”, in relation to a relevant authority, meant each of the following-?
Head of its paid service designated under section 4(1) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989;?
Monitoring officer designated under section 5(1) of that Act?
The chief finance officer - Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972?
A statutory chief officer mentioned in section 2(6) of that Act;?
A non-statutory chief officer mentioned in section 2(7) of that Act?
A? deputy chief officer mentioned in section 2(8) of that Act.?
?
The following were Statutory Officers:??
Head of paid service?
Monitoring officer??
The chief finance officer?
The Director for Children's Services - Section?18 of the Children Act 2004 and?
The Director for Social Services - section 5(1) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.?
Councillor Oliver replied that the 20-21 Accounts on the Council’s website there was a single exit payment of £487,591. No-one in the Cabinet at the time had been informed of that despite it being asked for. He asked if the Leader would support his request for an investigation into whether this was done in accordance with the Council’s policies and whether other similar actions had also been carried out in accordance with those policies. The Leader replied that he would ask the Cabinet Member for governance to look at this and respond.
?
Question 2 from Councillor Hill to the Leader
There are always lessons to be learnt for everyone after any emergency situation. What has the Leader personally learnt following Storm Arwen and what could he do better next time?
The Leader replied that in this instance he had learned of the value of human good nature across all sectors who had been involved. Unfortunately one or two members had used the opportunity to make political points but generally he felt very positive about the way people had reacted.
Councillor Hill asked whether the Leader felt that the relief effort and response was in any way hampered by poor communication or poor relationships within the Council. The Leader replied that he was not aware of any poor communications but if the councillor could provide further details outside of the meeting he would look at it.
Question 3
from Councillor Hill to Councillor
Horncastle
Berwick-upon-Tweed is, of course, a coastal Town with certain areas, such as Spittal, prone to flooding and associated problems. Why does NCC not hold a stock of sandbags locally?
The Leader replied that the County Council did hold a stock of sandbags at all of its main depots, including the Tweedmouth Depot in Berwick, which were available for use by Local Services staff during flooding incidents. Sandbags were prioritised to areas of greatest need during any incident in order to protect public safety and property, and staff worked closely with other partners, such as Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, Northumbria Police and the Environment Agency.
The County Council's approach to sand bag provision was clearly stated on the web page and reflected national guidance placing the responsibility firmly on the householder to make their own appropriate property level flood protection arrangements (as sandbags were not as effective as purpose made flood protection equipment and could not be relied upon).
The advice stated that:-
The County Council does not provide sandbags direct to any residents in the event of flooding. Residents in known flood risk areas were encouraged to make their own arrangements for protecting their properties against the threat of flood water, including buying sandbags.
If residents feel that their property is in danger of flooding, and they do not have suitable protection, then they should call us on 0345 600 6400.
If you call us, the council will arrange for the area to be inspected at the earliest opportunity. Upon inspection, if water ingress is imminent, then a decision will be made by the inspector to arrange for sandbags to be deployed.
It is important to stress that, whilst every effort is made to ensure that water ingress is avoided, we must also ensure that our resources are carefully utilised and only where immediate water ingress to properties is verified will sandbags be deployed.
Sandbags are readily available at builders' merchants and there are lots of modern alternatives that are easier to store and expand.
The Council is also working closely with both the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water on integrated modelling work on the drainage systems within Berwick to help inform improvement and investment plans to help reduce the risk of flooding in the area.
Councillor Hill commented that she had raised the question because there had been very bad flooding in Berwick on the Saturday after the storm and there had been no sandbags available locally, the nearest available was at Amble. She felt that there should be a stock available closer as it had been on the brink of a very serious situation.
Question 4 from Councillor Kennedy to the Leader
“……alongside £5m to regenerate the former bus station site.” These are the words of the Hexham MP in a letter to those who live in Hexham East during the December 2021 by-election.
I assume the statement is accurate and therefore Can I ask the Leader of the County Council to work with me and other Hexham County Councillors and the Hexham Town Council in developing this important site to one that Hexham can be proud of. Hexham has had to endure the former bus station in its dilapidated state for far too long and I am pleased that County Council is planning on making such an investment.
The Leader replied that was £5m in the capital programme for the regeneration of Hexham, which included the bus station. The project couldn’t be progressed without the agreement of the land owners concerned and negotiations were continuing. The £5m would be retained in the capital budget for it. The funding was in addition to that provided for the Hexham Heritage Action Zone and the new car parking at the old bunker site. The County Council was committed to working with its partners in Hexham and was providing funding to back that up.
Question 5 from Councillor Bridgett to the Leader
On Friday 3rd December, a week after Storm Arwen first hit, Cllr Sanderson, announced via social media that a major incident had been called “as per my request”. Could Councillor Sanderson please tell me that why, if he had the authority as leader to make such a request, did it take a week for him to do so, and does he agree that a major incident should have been called far sooner than 7 days after the storm?
The Leader replied that when it became clear how serious the incident was, a tactical group had been set up of chief operating officers which made the tactical decisions needed and he had remained in close communication with them throughout. He had decided at the start that there would be no political interference in the tactical group as it was an operational function and not his place to get involved with that. However, on 2 December Northern PowerGrid put out a text message to people who had been without power since the preceding Friday advising that they might not be reconnected until 6 or 7 December. At that point he felt that extra help was needed and the Chief Executive had been in agreement.
Councillor Bridgett replied that Storm Arwen had highlighted that in those houses where air source heat pumps and solar panels were installed, in most cases fires and log burners had been removed which would have provided an alternative source of heat. Some residents had had to be moved out of their homes into alternative accommodation. He asked the Leader if he would agree that the Housing Team look into this so that alternative heating methods should not be removed when solar panels were installed into council and housing association properties. The Leader agreed this was a valid point and it was those kinds of issues that would be picked up by the review.
Question 6 from Councillor Bridgett to Councillor J. Watson
Despite repeated requests, I have been unable to gain any information in recent months, from officers, in relation to what is happening with the swimming pool at Rothbury and why it is still devoid of water. Would Cllr Watson be able to enlighten my residents and I, into exactly what is going on there and what the council plans are for leisure services in the Rothbury area, and will Cllr Watson give me his assurance that as the elected member for Rothbury, I will be kept fully informed going forward?
The Business Chair replied for Councillor Watson and advised that investigations had determined that the significant problems with the swimming pool resulted from faults both with the pool liner, and the water circulation system. He assured Councillor Bridgett that officers now had the necessary information to present options to Cabinet for detailed discussion later this month. These options had been prepared in the context of both the technical inspection, and the findings of a specifically commissioned analysis of current and future facility requirements. Key stakeholders would also be consulted before any final decisions were made.
Councillor Bridgett looked forward to a significant capital investment in the forthcoming capital programme if this was the case.