Agenda and minutes

Council - Thursday, 18 July 2024 2.00 pm, MOVED

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Matlock. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services  Email: democratic.services@derbyshire.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

48/24

Apologies for absence

To receive apologies for absence (if any)

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Allen, Ashton, Collins, Fordham, Gourlay, Greenhalgh, Hoy, Musson, Nelson, Renwick, Smith, Stevenson, Wharmby and Wilson.

49/24

Declarations of interest

To receive declarations of interest (if any)

Minutes:

None received.

50/24

Chairman's announcements

Minutes:

The Chairman reported with sadness the death of former County Councillor Frank Hood, elected member for the Hatton and Hilton Division between 2005 and 2009.

 

He also referred to the recent death of Mr Leonard Twigg, husband of former County Councillor Judith Twigg.

 

Councillors paid tributes and stood in silence as a mark of respect.

 

As Councillor Athwal had been absent for the Annual General Meeting in May, he was presented with his Chain of Office as Deputy Chairman of the County Council as appointed at the last meeting, minute reference 37/24 refers.

 

Councillor Athwal responded with gratitude.

51/24

Minutes pdf icon PDF 175 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 22 May 2024

Minutes:

On the motion of Councillor B Lewis, duly seconded, it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

To confirm, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 22 May 2024, subject to the following amendment:-

 

Minute Reference 36/24 – Appointment of the Civic Chairman of Derbyshire County Council for 2024-25

 

That Councillor S Bull proposed the motion rather than Councillor G Hickton as stated.

52/24

Report of the Leader of the Council and Members' questions

To consider the report of the Council Leader and Members' questions on the report

Minutes:

Councillor Lewis made reference to the recent General Election results and conveyed his congratulations to the Labour MP’s who had all been elected across Derbyshire. He also passed on his thanks and commiserations to all of the outgoing Conservative MPs in Derbyshire. 

 

He referred to several topics that would require collaboration and joint working and looked forward to working with Derbyshire MP’s over the next few months.

 

No questions were raised on his report.

53/24

Public questions pdf icon PDF 45 KB

To consider public questions (if any)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Question from Sushri Wells to Councillor C Hart, Cabinet Member for Health and Communities

 

“Given that the Asian Association of Chesterfield and North Derbyshire has been receiving discretionary grants from Derbyshire County Council for many years, and considering the potential removal of these funds following the consultation process, could the Council please clarify the specific criteria used to determine the continuation or removal of these grants? Additionally, what measures will the Council put in place to support the affected communities if these funds are withdrawn?”

 

Councillor Hart responded as follows:

 

“As you acknowledge in your question Derbyshire County Council have been providing your organisation that you are representing today, and many others, grants for many years.  In fact I think we are talking in your case something like 20 years or more?  Longer than that. 

 

We did start a review on all our grants before Covid just to make sure that help is delivered to our residents’ priorities.  When Covid happened of course we had to put that on one side but we picked it up again last year.  Since we have picked it up we have made sure that organisations we give grants to do know that it isn’t guaranteed funding every year and there may be changes.

 

I don’t know whether you read the Cabinet report that was produced asking us to go out to consultation but it was highlighted of course that the Council is under significant financial pressures due to the demand for services and the cost of providing these services for local people.

 

As you know the consultation is happening now.  We do have a draft Impact and Equality Assessment and that has helped us to sort of anticipate some of the proposals that might come forward from the affected organisations should that funding be stopped.  In fact it did help us to sort of sort the questions out on the consultation to draw that out.

 

When the consultation finishes we will then consider all the responses; we will be holding some extra meetings and ongoing engagement, as well as the analysis of the annual reports and the accounts for any possible affected organisations.  Following that we will then consider all the feedback and then of course we will assess the viability and implications before making any decisions.  I hope that covers some of your concerns.”

 

Sushri Wells asked the following supplementary question:

 

“When will we know the final decision on the consultation?”

 

Councillor Hart responded as follows:

 

“It will take some time once the consultation comes in and all the responses are received so I haven’t got a timeframe exactly for that but I can assure you we will take all the responses in; we will talk to the organisations who put their cases forward.  I am sure that many besides yourself and your organisation will be asking us to relook and rethink so we will be talking with them and assessing as I say the viability and the sustainability and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53/24

54/24

Petitions

To receive petitions (if any)

Minutes:

None received.

CONTROLLED 

55/24

Changes to Committee Memberships and Outside Body Appointments pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, that sought approval for changes to Committee Memberships and Outside Body Appointments following recent modifications.

 

On the motion of Councillor S Swann, duly seconded it was

 

RESOLVED to

 

1)    Approve the following changes to representation on committees and outside bodes in place of Councillor Gourlay:

 

a)    Appoint Councillor Ford to the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Places;

 

b)    Appoint Councillor Grooby to the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Health;

 

c)    Appoint Councillor Wharmby as the Council’s representative on the High Peak Community Safety Partnership; and

 

d)    Appoint Councillor Hobson as the Council’s representative to the Peak District Partnership.

 

2)    Appoints Councillors Flatley and George as named substitute members of the East Midlands County Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee; and

 

3)    Appoints Councillors Atkin and Clarke as named substitute members of the East Midlands County Combined Authority Audit and Governance Committee.

CONTROLLED 

56/24

Changes to Senior Leadership Structure within Adult Social Care & Health

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Health introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, that sought approval for the remuneration on appointment of the Director of Strategic Commissioning, Integration and Partnerships and the Director of Quality Assurance, Performance and Safeguarding.

 

On the motion of Councillor B Lewis, duly seconded it was

 

RESOLVED to:

 

1)    Approve the renumeration on the appointment of the Director of Strategic Commissioning, Integration and Partnerships and the Director of Quality, Performance & Safeguarding, both posts having been evaluated at Grade18 with a salary in excess of £100,000;

 

2)    Approve the amendments to the Pay Policy Statement to reflect the changes to the Adult Care leadership roles as outlined in the report; and

 

3)    Authorise the Monitoring Officer to make the necessary amendments to the Constitution to reflect the changes to the jobs and role titles.

CONTROLLED 

57/24

Children's Services Leadership Changes

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Director for Children’s Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, that sought approval for the salary package for the Director of Strategic Commissioning, Quality and Performance.

 

On the motion of Councillor J Patten, duly seconded it was

 

RESOLVED to:

 

1)    Approve the salary package for the role of Director of Strategic Commissioning, Quality and Performance as Grade 18, up to £108,772 per annum;

 

2)    Approve the amendments to the Pay Policy Statement to reflect the changes to Childrens Services leadership roles as outlined in the report; and

 

3)    Authorise the Monitoring Officer to make the necessary amendments to the Constitution to reflect the changes to job and role titles.

CONTROLLED 

58/24

Performance Monitoring and Revenue Outturn 2023-24 pdf icon PDF 611 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Managing Director introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting in relation to the Performance Monitoring and Revenue Outturn for 2023-24.

 

On the motion of Councillor s Spencer, duly seconded it was

 

RESOLVED to note:

 

1)    The Council Plan performance and the Revenue outturn position for 2023-24;

 

2)    The cumulative deficit on the Dedicated Schools Grant at 31 March 2024 as set out in paragraph 2.54 of the report;

 

3)    The position on General and Earmarked Reserves;

 

4)    The allocation of underspend amounts and commitments to Portfolios as set out in paragraph 2.59 of the report;

 

5)    The contribution of £0.678m from the Public Transport budget to an Earmarked reserve to fund additional capacity within the SEND Passenger Transport service as detailed in paragraph 2.63 of the report;

 

6)    The contributions to Earmarked reserves of £0.218m Virtual School grant and £0.324m Early Years grant funding as detailed in paragraph 2.64 of the report; and

 

7)    That any underspends arising in future financial years on the Virtual School and Early Years grants may be contributed to an Earmarked reserve to fund future expenditure consistent with the purpose of the respective grants.

CONTROLLED 

59/24

Minor Change to the Constitution: D2 Strategic Leadership Board pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, that referred to a minor change to the Constitution in relation to the D2 Strategic Leadership Board.

 

On the motion of Councillor S Swann, duly seconded it was

 

RESOLVED to note:

 

1)    The inclusion in the Constitution of reference to the new Derby and Derbyshire Strategic Leadership Board as established by Cabinet and its Terms of Reference as approved by Cabinet and removal of references to and the Terms of Reference for the Vision Derbyshire Committee and Economic Prosperity Committee; and

 

2)    That the amendments detailed have been reported to Governance Ethics, and Standards Committee.

CONTROLLED 

60/24

Elected Member questions

To consider questions submitted by Elected Members

Minutes:

None received.

CONTROLLED 

61/24

Notice of Motion pdf icon PDF 76 KB

Minutes:

Councillor L Grooby proposed a motion that was duly seconded, in the following terms:

 

Background

 

As one of Buxton’s Councillors I have been actively engaged with local residents and groups in working to ensure the future of our museum. Working alongside Cllr Lewis we have discussed and considered options available to us.

 

A recent well attended march to the front of the museum, led by a local group, demonstrated the evident desire and passion to keep our town’s museum open.

 

The museum is a vital part of our heritage and must be preserved for the local people of today and for future generations. It is also critical for visitors to Derbyshire, who visit from all over the world, that we are able to share our rich cultural heritage and history.

 

The motion proposed was:

 

That Council:

 

Supports all efforts towards a sustainable long-term solution to keep Buxton’s museum open and available for the residents of Derbyshire as well as the many visitors to the town from outside the County.

 

Councillor J Dixon proposed the following amendment, which was accepted by the proposer, in the following terms:

 

That Council:

 

Supports all efforts towards a sustainable long-term solution to keep Buxton’s museum open and available for the residents of Derbyshire as well as the many visitors to the town from outside the County and in the meantime the Council will strive to keep the collection and not dispose of any of the collection whilst a new solution is being explored.

 

A vote was taken on the motion and was declared to be CARRIED, it was therefore

 

RESOLVED:

 

To support all efforts towards a sustainable long-term solution to keep Buxton’s museum open and available for the residents of Derbyshire as well as the many visitors to the town from outside the County and in the meantime the Council will strive to keep the collection and not dispose of any of the collection whilst a new solution is being explored.