Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence (if any)

Apologies for absence were submitted for Councillor S Bull, D Collins, J Dixon, M Ford, R George, C Hart, G Hickton, S Hobson, J Innes, T King, G Kinsella, P Rose, A Stevenson, B Woods and M Yates.

To receive declarations of interest (if any)

None received.

The Chairman spoke about the conflict in Ukraine and how the people of Derbyshire stood by and supported Ukrainian citizens.

17 March saw the Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection where the country came together to give thanks to our valued social care workers. The day also provided an opportunity to remember the estimated 922 social care workers who died during the covid-19 pandemic in England.

The Chairman offered his condolences to Councillor Stevenson whose son, David, had recently passed away. This was very unexpected for his family and friends.  David always had a smile on his face and his funeral took place this morning.

Members paused for a minute of silence to reflect on those who are no longer with us and those who are left behind.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on Wednesday 2 February 2022.

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 2 February 2022 subject to:

• Adding Councillor Hickton to the list of Councillors present
• Clarifying that Councillor A Dale had submitted apologies
• Removing Councillor Allen from the list of Councillors in favour of the motion at item 9e.

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

The Leader of the Council spoke about the conflict in Ukraine and how tragic the situation is for the people of the Country. He said that colleagues from Community Safety and Adult Social Care were ready to help with the refugee response locally when required and guidance on grant funding available for refugees had been published but further details were awaited. He added that in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, County Hall had been lit blue and yellow every evening since the start of the crisis and there is much more the council would like to do to support Ukraine.

The Leader next spoke about recent difficulties on the A57 where a number of landslips had been reported. Across the county’s roads around 25 landslips and sink holes were being monitored with 8 resulting in closure of roads. These issues were particularly challenging for geographic areas such as Derbyshire, Lancashire and Herefordshire and something nationally needed to be done to recognise this.

Recent flooding had hit the county and as a result, the Flood Hardship Scheme was again put into action.  38 grants of £500 had been paid to businesses, and 41 to individuals of £104. The initial allocation of £20,000 had therefore been exceeded and the general reserve would be used to make up the shortfall. The Council had been forthright in pressuring government for the promised resources to combat flooding and this would continue.

The Leader thanked members who attended the recent county deals briefing and further such briefings including district and borough council would be arranged in due course. Discussions on the deal would continue.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year was in full swing, and the Leader attended the Chairman’s afternoon tea at the weekend. A programme of commemorative events was planned for the County and the website had further details. As part of the Queen’s Green Canopy a number of trees were being planted at county council sites and this would continue during the autumn planting season.

In response to a question from Councillor Wharmby, the Leader said that he was happy to support the donation of £20,000 from the Chairman’s fund made to the Disasters Emergency Committee to provide funding for a range of support including providing refugees and displaced people with food, water, blankets, hygiene items and medical help.

In response to a further question from Councillor Gillott, the Leader advised that he would be happy to facilitate providing some written information to Members so that they could signpost residents towards charities and organisations that were offering help to the people of Ukraine.

To consider public questions (if any)

a)   Question from Michael Pomerantz, to Councillor D Wilson, Chair of Pensions and Investments Committee (attending)

“What evidence does the Council have that engagement works better than divestment in terms of influencing a fossil fuel company's actions?"

Councillor Wilson responded as follows:

“Fossil fuels are expected to remain an important part of the energy mix for many years to come and the producers of fossil fuel products are also major developers of renewable energy solutions.  Engagements, particularly collaboratively, and coordinating engagements with other like-minded investors by our organisations such as the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum enables us to influence companies as they adapt their business models for the transition to a low carbon economy.

Investor engagement has encouraged investee companies to improve the quality of their climate related disclosures and to commit to targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  The major oil and gas companies from the UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain and Norway have all now committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  Ongoing engagement is encouraging companies to clearly explain their climate aligned strategies with transparent plans for how their assets and business strategies will adapt to achieve net zero emissions and with creative transition timetables.

       As a responsible long-term investor Derbyshire Pension Fund is well placed to provide support to companies right across the economy during the energy transition influencing corporate behaviour through engagement to achieve real world reductions in greenhouse gas emissions instead of walking away from a table.”

      There was no supplementary question.

b)  Question from Wendy Bullar, Divest Derbyshire to Councillor D Wilson, Chair of Pensions and Investments Committee (not attending)

“On behalf of the Divest Derbyshire campaign we applaud the rapid action of the Derbyshire Pension Fund in divesting from Russian investments. The recent situation in Ukraine shows how unstable fossil fuel investments are and the need to reduce our reliance on oil and gas from autocratic regimes. As one energy analyst has shown if the 649 wind and solar projects already cleared for development in the UK were actually built they would, collectively, more than offset the gas that is currently imported from Russia.

Given the huge opportunities in investment in renewables coupled with the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, what is stopping our Pension Fund from equally urgent action in divesting from fossil fuels and investing in renewables instead? The development of Renewables across Derbyshire would offer excellent job and business opportunities for the people of this county.”

Councillor Wilson responded as follows:

“Derbyshire Pension Fund is continuing to liaise closely with its underlying managers regarding the unwinding of its exposure to investments in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent imposition of sanctions against Russia.

      Russian companies, which are subject to the influence of the Russian state, are no longer expected to meet investor expectations for environmental, social and governance standards and the likelihood of effective engagement between investors and Russian companies has deteriorated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16/22

To receive petitions (if any)

None received.

To consider questions submitted by Elected Members

a)  Question from Councillor G Kinsella to Councillor C Renwick, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment

“The Derbyshire Cycling Plan 2016-30 states its aim is to double the number of people cycling regularly by 2030. What progress has been made on this and what spend has been allocated in the 2022/23 budget for cycling per head to help deliver this aim?”

Response from Councillor Renwick:

“The Derbyshire Cycling Plan 2016 was developed and signed up to by a range of stakeholders, including Derbyshire County Council, the Derby City Councils, the Peak District National Park Authority, all local District and Borough Councils, the National Forest, the University of Derby, Sustrans and British Cycling.  The Plan is actually currently being refreshed following the pandemic and this work is now being led by Active Derbyshire.

In terms of progress, data taken for 2016/17 showed 88,700 over-16s cycling regularly and by 2020/21 this had increased to 120,000 (although I would caution that this takes into account the increased levels during the pandemic).  It is the Active Lives’ data set that will now be used to monitor this going forward and new targets will be assessed and agreed as part of the refresh.

For information this County Council has also introduced three new cycling targets as part of our Key Performance Indicators to help inform progress.  These are firstly:

1     The number of kilometres of the Key Cycle and Local Cycle Networks that will increase annually.

2     The number of schemes planned in terms of preparation and design for the next financial year.

3     The number of people walking, cycling, horse riding on certain sections of three specific popular routes which includes the White Peak Loop, the Clowne Greenway and the Pennine Bridleway National Trail. 

The first set of data for all these new targets will be reported at the end of the current financial year which will be available via Apex in April 2022. 

In terms of the spend allocated for cycling I can confirm that approximately £2.2m has been approved through the Highways Capital Programme and the Challenge Fund.  That goes towards drainage and resurfacing on both the existing KCN/LCN routes but also the development, design and feasibility of work on future routes and also some signage on the Key Cycle Network.  A further £207,000 has been invested for the Pennine Bridleway and we also now employ a full-time dedicated officer.

In addition, the Council was also successful in its £1.6m application to the Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund, Tranche 2.  That was for the Chesterfield East-West Cycle Route.  Added to that we have actually got a further application for £3.4m for Tranche 3 funding has also been submitted and if we are successful that would be used to develop the sections of the White Peak Loop and the Little Eaton Branch Line.  The Council expects to hear the outcome of this application later this year.  So we have many examples of popular and well cycled routes across Derbyshire.  If you  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18/22

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval for proposed amendments to the Council Procedure Rules for inclusion in the Constitution.

It was explained that the report had been proposed and seconded by Councillors B Lewis and S Spencer at the previous meeting of Council so Members were invited to debate the report.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Gillott and duly seconded in the following terms:

To add the words “except for the proposals contained in paragraphs 9.2 and 11.1 to extend the deadline for submitting questions to 10 working days which should remain instead at 12 noon on the Friday before the Council meeting” to the end of the recommendation

Following debate, the amendment to the motion was duly voted on and declared to be LOST.

There followed a debate on the original motion moved at the previous meeting by Councillor B Lewis that had been duly seconded it was

RESOLVED to:

Approve the Council Procedure Rules, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, for inclusion in the Constitution.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduce a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, notifying Council of minor amendments made to the Constitution to update the list of legislation under which the Council’s Trading Standards Service can take enforcement action.

On the motion of Councillor B Lewis duly seconded it was

RESOLVED:

To note the decision made by the Director of Legal Services to amend the Constitution to include the updated list of legislation to enable the Trading Standards Service to undertake necessary enforcement action.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which was circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval for a revised Code of Conduct for Elected and co-opted Members for inclusion in the Constitution. 

On the motion of Councillor B Lewis duly seconded it was

RESOLVED to:

Agree to adopt the proposed Code of Conduct, at Appendix 2 to the report, from 1st April 2022 for inclusion in the Constitution.

The Chairman welcomed Mr Simon Westwood, Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel, to introduce the report of the Panel following consideration of it by the Governance, Ethics and Standards Committee.

Thanks were expressed for the hard work of Mr Westwood and the other members of the Independent Renumeration Panel on behalf of Members.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Gillott and duly seconded in the following terms:

To add two further recommendations to the report as follows:

1)    That Council welcomes the decision of the Independent Remuneration Panel to review the Special Responsibility Allowance paid to the positions of Civic Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council during the next 12 months;

2)    That Council notes the decision of the Leader in May 2021 to increase the number of Cabinet and Cabinet Support Members and invites the Independent Remuneration Panel to review the Special Responsibility Allowances for Cabinet and Cabinet Support Members in light of that decision to determine whether the current level of payments are still appropriate or whether they should be reduced.

Following debate, the amendment to the motion was duly voted on and declared to be LOST.

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

RESOLVED to:

1)   Consdier the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel, subsequently supported by the Governance Ethics and Standards Committee, and approve the recommendations contained in the report;

2)   Agree the schedule of members’ allowances for 2022/23 as attached at Appendix 2 to Independent Remuneration Panel’s report;

3)   Note the proposal to recruit to the positions on the Independent Renumeration Panel as the vacancies arise; and

4)   Authorise the Monitoring Officer to make appropriate amendments to the Constitution to reflect any changes to the members’ allowances scheme agreed.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated advance of the meeting, seeking approval to set the level of remuneration for the Independent Remuneration Panel going forward.

Councillor B Lewis, when moving the motion, which was duly seconded, proposed that the payments should be index linked in the same way as Members’ Allowance payments. It was therefore

RESOLVED to:

1)   Approve that Independent Remuneration Panel members are paid a fixed-fee of £600 per annum and that the payment is uplifted annually by any increase in the pay award due to employees covered by the NJC Pay Rates as of 1April each year;

2)   Approve that the Chair of the IRP is paid an additional chair’s allowance of £250 per annum and that the payment is uplifted annually by any increase in the pay award due to employees covered by the NJC Pay Rates as of 1st April each year; and

3)   Approve that the allowances payable to the Independent Remuneration Panel are paid in 12 monthly instalments from 1 April 2022.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval for the appropriate number of independent persons to support the Council’s regime to maintain high standards of conduct by elected members and to determine appropriate remuneration for the independent persons.

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

RESOLVED to:

1)   Agree that the Council pay independent persons appointed under s28 Localism Act 2011 a fixed-fee of £1200 per annum in 12 monthly instalments from 1st April 2022, but that this should be kept under bi-annual review by the Governance, Ethics and Standards Committee;

2)   Agree that the Council should have two independent persons; and

3)   Note that a recruitment process for a second independent person will be commenced.

The Managing Director introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, presenting the refreshed Council Plan for 2022/23.

On the motion of Councillor B Lewis duly seconded it was

RESOLVED to:

1)   Approve the authority’s refreshed Council Plan 2022-23; and

2)   Note the Council Plan Delivery Plan 2022-23.

The Managing Director introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, presenting department service plans for 2022/23. A number of technical amendments had been made to the Plan for the Place Department since the plans were approved at Cabinet. These technical amendments had been circulated to Members prior to the meeting and were outlined in detail by the Managing Director. The Managing Director also confirmed the amendments would be reflected in the published version of the plan, subject to their consideration and approval by Council.

On the motion of Councillor B Lewis duly seconded it was

RESOLVED to:

Approve departmental service plans for 2022/23 subject to the following technical amendments to the Plan for the Place Department:

1)   On page 401 - for Trading Standards, the figure in the brackets contained in the unallocated budgets column should read (47) and not (105). This amendment has then changed some of the total amounts at the bottom of the table.

2)   Updates to the Forward Plan section as follows:

a)   Page 404 Agnes meadow – contract start date now 03/06/2022

b)   Page 405 TS16019 – Novus – contract start date now 30/06/2023

c)    Page 408 Elvaston Castle Capital Enabling Works – contract start date now 27/11/22

d)   Page 409 Restoring your Railway Outline Business Case and related works on the Barrow Hill, Ivanhoe and Main Marian lines– Value increased from £500,000 to £1,200,000

3)   On page 399 Section Two – Priorities (not a Council Deliverable) – an additional priority has been added – P-46 Worked with District and Borough Councils to optimise our approach to verge management whilst balancing biodiversity and highway safety; and

4)   On page 379 the performance measure targets for Customer satisfaction with Highways and Transportation Services have been increased to: 2022-23 57% and 2023-24 60%.

The Director of Organisation Development and Policy introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, setting out the Pay Policy Statement which the Council was required to publish on its website. It was noted that some figures would be updated in light of the recent pay award. This would be done prior to publication of the statement.

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

RESOLVED to:

To approve the Pay Policy Statement for the financial year commencing 1 April 2022 and agrees that it should be published on the website.

The Managing Director introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval of various decisions needed to commence the recruitment to the position of Executive Director for Corporate Service and Transformation.

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

RESOLVED to:

1)   Approve the salary package for the role of Executive Director Corporate Services and Transformation as Grade 20 £119,637 to £131,600 per annum;

2)   Delegate the appointment of the Executive Director Corporate Services and Transformation to the Recruitment Panel;

3)   Authorise the Managing Director, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee, to agree an extension to the current acting up arrangements to 31August 2022, or until such time a permanent candidate commences in role, whichever is sooner; and

4)   Note that a report confirming details of the successful candidate will subsequently be presented to Council.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval to the remove the requirement to appoint a nominative trustee to the trustee body of Dr Bland’s Alms Houses Charity from the Scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 23 July 1986.

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

RESOLVED to:

Consent to the removal of the requirement set out in the Scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 23 July 1986 for the Council to appoint a nominative trustee to the trustee body of Dr Bland’s Alms Houses Charity.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval to make changes to the memberships of committees and representatives appointed to Outside Bodies following a request from the Conservative Group.

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

RESOLVED that with immediate effect:

1)   Councillor Woolley is appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee - People in place of Councillor Rose;

2)   Councillor Wharmby is appointed as a member of the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Climate Change in place of Councillor Rose;

3)   Councillor Gourlay is appointed as a member of the Member Development Working Group in place of Councillor Rose;

4)   Councillor Ford is appointed as the Council’s representative to the Midland Rail Forum; and

5)   Councillor Redfern is appointed as the Council’s representative on the Derbyshire Law Centre

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, reporting executive decisions taken as a matter of urgency where 28 days’ notice of the decision could not be given and where call-in was waived.

On the motion of Councillor B Lewis duly seconded it was

RESOLVED to note:

1)   The key decisions taken where special urgency provisions were agreed as detailed at Appendix 2 to the report; and

2)   The urgent decisions taken where the call-in procedure was waived under the Improvement and Scrutiny Procedure Rules as detailed at Appendix 3 to the report.

Motion one received from Councillor D Wilson

Councillor Wilson proposed a motion, which was duly seconded, in the following terms:

Council resolves to:

a)   stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people;

b)   unequivocally denounce the unilateral military intervention of Russia against its immediate neighbour; and

c)    actively consider requests from HM Government, public sector partners, and civil society groups, such as the British Red Cross, to provide practical support to the people of Ukraine, including to any refugees who lawfully resettle in Derbyshire pursuant to international agreements or domestic legislation.

Following debate, the motion was duly voted on and declared to be WON. It was therefore

RESOLVED that:

Council:

a)   stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people;

b)   unequivocally denounces the unilateral military intervention of Russia against its immediate neighbour; and

c)    actively considers requests from HM Government, public sector partners, and civil society groups, such as the British Red Cross, to provide practical support to the people of Ukraine, including to any refugees who lawfully resettle in Derbyshire pursuant to international agreements or domestic legislation.

Motion two received from Councillor D Greenhalgh

Council considered a notice of motion, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, from Councillor Greenhalgh.

Councillor Greenhalgh spoke to advise Council that he wished to move an amended motion which was duly seconded, in the following terms.

Council resolves to call on the UK Government to allocate the promised resources for flood protection to Derbyshire as soon as possible, and agrees to give higher priority and resourcing to flood prevention, including integration with the climate change strategy and large-scale preventative tree planting in catchment areas to slow river flows.

Areas such as slow river flows such as the Derwent Connections Project currently being funded by Green Challenge Recovery Fund and similar schemes supported by DCC such as the Moorland Drainage Scheme trialled above New Mills.  This Council calls upon Government to consider a new framework and formula to fund damaged and compromised highways and other infrastructure by landslips and sinkholes exacerbated by increased rainfall and flooding.

As the time was approaching 5 o’clock, in accordance with Standing Order 4.1 an extension of the time limited for the meeting was proposed.

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

RESOLVED:

That under rule 4.1 of the Council Procedure Rules the meeting should continue for a period of 10 minutes to enable the remaining business on the agenda to be considered.

Following debate, Councillor Greenhalgh’s motion was duly voted on and declared to be WON.

It was therefore

RESOLVED that:

Council calls on the UK Government to allocate the promised resources for flood protection to Derbyshire as soon as possible, and agrees to give higher priority and resourcing to flood prevention, including integration with the climate change strategy and large-scale preventative tree planting in catchment areas to slow river flows.

Areas such as slow river flows such as the Derwent Connections Project currently being funded by Green Challenge Recovery Fund and similar schemes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32/22