Minutes:
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 facilities and some form of business hub and there were good opportunities for Bedlington in light of the future development at Sleekburn. The situation remained fluid at the current time but there were a number of different funding opportunities including S106 funding.
Councillor Robinson replied that he had been pursuing this already and added that there needed to be public sector investment to drive forward retail development. He hoped the Council would grasp the opportunities that were there.
Question 5 from Councillor Kennedy to the Leader
In the Journal 23 January 2021, the former leader of the council stated following the outcome of the CEO employment tribunal, that “....which leads me to believe that there has been a large degree of political bias” and that “...I was acting on behalf of and in the best interests of the council when I suspended the Chief Executive in August 2020”. Do you agree or disagree with these statements and why?
The Leader replied that because of the ongoing live confidential issues he could not discuss this. The process that was referred to was not part of the Cabinet/Executive arrangements and had been overseen by the JNC and officers. The proceedings of the EAC remained highly confidential and the comments attributed to specific members still remained a live issue. If and when he was ever able to, he would discuss these issues with Councillor Kennedy.
Councillor Kennedy replied that he hadn’t raised confidential issues and was disappointed with the response. He had been advised that by virtue of the constitution, the Leader would not be able to respond to his questions, and he hadn’t been able to verify this for himself because the constitution was not on the website. This was about accountability and openness.
The Leader replied that there were still live issues that could not be discussed because of the impact on staff and legal matters.
Question 6 from Councillor Seymour to Councillor Riddle
Our council is moving ahead leaps and bounds with its forward thinking climate change emergency plan to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. Many residents throughout Berwick are keen to conserve and preserve the environment. What is the Council doing to encourage architects, designers and contractors in regards to planning applications and building control consents in the use of green ecological-based materials and energy saving constructions?
Councillor Riddle replied that Local planning authorities were bound by the legal duty in Section 19 of the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (as amended) to ensure that, taken as a whole, local plan policies contributed to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change. In Northumberland planning applications were now required to include a Design Statement, and this included how the proposal has responded to climate change in the design choices made in the construction proposal. This issue was the subject of detailed negotiations and officers looked to secure the best combination of carbon-efficient measures.
The new Local Plan included an entire suite of new requirements, under policies addressing;
The overarching approach to climate change
Location of new development and transport
Sustainable design and construction of new buildings
Renewable energy
Protection of carbon sinks
Resilience to climate change
Question 7 from Councillor Nisbet to the Leader
Given some members of this council have tried to rubbish the EAC report, can the Leader confirm who wrote the report and what process it went through to ensure it was accurate?
The Leader replied that this was still a confidential matter, but he confirmed again that the JNC process had been independent of the Council. He did not know who had written the report or what process it had gone through as he hadn’t been involved. He referred Councillor Nisbet to officers.
Question 8 from Councillor Hepple to the Leader
What action has the Leader taken to support the CEO since this report was presented and the actions agreed by the committee?
The Leader responded that there was formal process of support between himself and the Chief Executive. If she was happy for that to be shared, he would meet Councillor Hepple to go through it in more detail.
Question 9 from Councillor Dungworth to the Leader
How could members of the LGA be aware of this and other reports that went to the EAC, including confidential content details, and the membership and date of the committee meeting prior to it being on the council website?
The Leader repeated that this was an independent process. However, he had asked officers to look into this particular question. Councillor Dungworth asked that this aspect be included in the investigation into these matters given the ongoing leaks from the Council since mid-summer, and hoped it would be given the same level of resource as other investigations into leaks. The Leader confirmed it would be looked at by the officers who were looking at the data breaches.
Question 10 from Councillor Dungworth to the Leader
This Council has and continues to be subject to a period of instability, turmoil and well publicised risk. Why has the risk appraisal panel not met since 3rd of January 2019?
Councillor Oliver set out what he saw as instability, turmoil and risk, adding that there were risks associated with the previous administration which were not well known and which the current Administration had had to deal with. The RAP was not a decision making body and custom and practice had been for it to consider large loans to outside bodies, which there had not been any of. He was confident that the Council’s risk management processes were very robust.
Councillor Dungworth replied that members were being silenced and information to councillors was being suppressed. Councillor Oliver’s response to the question indicated just how seriously he took this risk to the Council and it was not just Councillor Oliver’s decision about what posed risk to the Authority, it was a decision for the wider Council. She asked when a RAP would be called.
Councillor Oliver replied that he had never declined to hold a RAP meeting and leaks had not come from the Administration. If there was a need for a meeting and officers recommended it then he would support that. Councillor Dunn commented that the leaks had not come from the Labour Group either.
Question 11 from Councillor Gallacher to the Leader
Why were councillors not informed of the decision made by the EAC immediately after the Chief Executive was notified so we knew the position?
The Leader replied that he had asked the questionabout sharing the outcome and had been advised that he could not because of the confidentiality and it being an independent process. However, events had overtaken this.
Question 12 from Councillor Bowman to the Leader
Why have no political actions been taken by the Conservative Group against those involved in this when other cabinet members felt the need to resign over the behaviour of these members?
Councillor Bowman was unwell and unable to put his question.
Question 13 from Councillor Dunn to the Leader
Can the Leader confirm that the CEO has his full backing and he does not condone any continued coordinated attacks against her and other members of the executive team?
The Leader confirmed that he and the Chief Executive had a good working relationship and he would not condone bad behaviour of any kind.
Question 14 from Councillor Grimshaw to the Leader
Why aren’t the cross party agreed actions from the audit committee to try and save Advance Northumberland and mitigate costs potentially levelled at the taxpayer not on this agenda as an urgent item.
Councillor Dodd responded and advised that the Audit Committee performed a very important role, with oversight of governance across the Authority. He valued this role immensely and actively supported the important work of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee would from time to time receive information which was exempt from publication. This could not be discussed in the public domain, and he was unable, along with every other member of the County Council, to discuss exempt information in open session. This was set out clearly in the Constitution.
He assured Councillor Grimshaw and all members of the County Council, that he would work closely with the Chief Executive and all members of the Executive Management Team to ensure that the governance arrangements were sound. This extended to all aspects of the County Council's operations, including group entities. The Administration would continue to work closely with the Executive Management Team, and should any matters need to be brought to Council, then this would be done. At the current time, Cabinet and the County Council's senior management were managing all aspects of governance in the expected usual way, and no matters had been identified which would require a decision of Council.
Councillor Grimshaw replied that he understood that this group had only involved group leaders and was therefore confidential in any regard. She suggested that this matter could be considered by RAP because of the ongoing concerns around Advance.
Question 15 from Councillor Simpson to Councillor Jones
What assurances can the Cabinet member give to reassure elderly residents and their families when they hear that subsidies for older people’s telecare, such as red cord, are being reduced?
Councillor Jones replied that this was a review which hadn’t yet been completed, and which would be brought back to members for the final decision about how to make the target saving. The review was looking at the telecare service overall, which had a number of different functions, some of which weren’t connected to the alarm call systems installed in people’s homes, and some of the savings options which were being considered would not affect that part of the service. The call centre which the service operated also provided a call handling service for some Council and non-Council services, and one strand in the review would be looking at the efficiency of that call handling service and opportunities to increase its income.
Question 16 from Councillor Gallacher to the Leader
Many of the cuts are levelled as expected or hoped to achieve so if they aren’t achieved in these areas, what’s plan B?
Councillor Oliver replied that there was no plan B, it was not needed. He was confident that this budget was deliverable, as it had been in the last four years.
Question 17 from Councillor Clark to the Leader
Members are concerned to hear the sale of Amble Links, a prime site formerly owned by the Council has been sold off. Will this affect local residents' use of the popular leisure facilities?
Councillor Wearmouth replied that it had not been sold off though an offer was being considered. This was a commercial matter and should not be discussed in public and he would be interested to learn how the information had got out. The current arrangements in relation to the use of the leisure facilities would continue.
Question 18 from Councillor Foster to the Leader
Can the Leader confirm that the leisure facilities promised to Bedlington in various press releases aren’t actually coming forward and no business case is in place?
Councillor Watson advised that the current
development in Bedlington Town Centre did not include leisure
facilities in the form provided by Active Northumberland on behalf
of the Council. The first two phases
built upon the success of securing £2m from the Getting
Britain Building Fund. The first two phases secured the new Aldi
store, along with a marketplace and public realm updates. The
remaining two phases were subject to full business case and would
come back to Cabinet once officers had done further work. Further
work would need to be done before any plans for the remaining
phases could be agreed., Any opportunities to increase engagement
in physical activity and sport would be considered.
Question 19 from Councillor Dickinson to Cllr Renner-Thompson
Children’s and adult services management have been put together and one of the largest cuts is £160k of management posts from children's services. How confident are you that services will not suffer or that the pressure on the remaining managers will not be untenable? Which posts will actually go?
Councillor Renner Thompson replied that in terms of Children’s Services, he was confident that services would not suffer nor that the pressures on remaining managers would be untenable. The restructure had taken place following the planned retirement of two senior managers. There had been a reduction of one post and a regrading of another post. Responsibilities had been realigned across the management team and this had allowed for better integration between line management of key areas e.g. In-house placement provision with line management of fostering and residential now combined. Similarly, quality assurance included management of the IRO service and workforce development under one senior manager. There was also now increased integration of the management of urban and rural social work services.
The management team had been consulted about the proposals, appointments to two of the posts had been completed following expressions of interest and all were positive about the changes which would come into effect on 15th March 2021.