Agenda and minutes

To receive declarations of interest (if any)

None.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Joel Bryan, the new Member for Long Eaton Division following the recent by election, to his first meeting of the Council.

The Chairman referred Members to the car stickers that had been distributed onto desks in the Chamber. He explained that these were to promote the "Foster for Derbyshire" Campaign being run by Children's Services and asked that they were displayed in the hope of attracting interest.

The Chairman congratulated two members of staff, Jess Jones and Jess Burke, who were nominated for a national award. On the 27 October Jess Jones won the award for the National Leaving Care Personal Assistant of the Year. Another care leaver, Emily Statham, who is also a member of the Corporate Parenting Board was congratulated for her part in helping to organise and facilitate the national event.

Finally, the Chairman paid tribute to Councillor Alan Griffiths, who sadly passed away in July. Alan was the councillor for Long Eaton Division and a number of Members spoke to share their memories and pay their respects. Council stood for a period of silent reflection.

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

The Leader of the Council spoke about the Queen's Green Canopy project, which was to commemorate the Late Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The Council was lucky enough to be asked to "host" a number of trees that were part of the "Tree of Trees" installation outside Buckingham Palace. Each of these was dedicated to one of six local charities or groups which were Alfreton Park School, Buxton Mountain Rescue Team, Derbyshire Children’s Homes, Derbyshire Federation of Women’s Institutes, the Landmarks College in Eckington and the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby. The trees were planted at the newly dedicated Queen's Memorial Copse at Shipley Country Park at a ceremony in October. Thanks to staff in the Countryside Service for what was a wonderful day attended by members of the Lieutenancy and Colonel Dan Rex the Chief Executive of The Queen’s Green Canopy.

The Leader next touched on the cost-of-living crisis being experienced currently, the subject of a Motion later on the agenda, and the support the Council had in place. This involved:

·        A £50,000 fund to support initiatives to provide community warm spaces had been established.

·        An additional £80,000 had been provided to Locality Health Partnerships to provide cost of living support to people in their local communities.

·        £100,000 provided to Marches Energy Advice which is working alongside foodbanks to supports people in crisis with emergency heating measures.

·        £100,000 given to Foundation Derbyshire to support the work of foodbanks

·        £67,000 to support the work of Citizen’s Advice Bureau in providing wrap-around support to people using its services.

Additionally, a bulletin had been issued recently to Councillors detailing what support measures were in place locally as well as across the County area. There were a large number of local support measures in place such as:

·        An additional £42,000 for the Derbyshire Law Centre to support its work with people living in secure housing and £22,000 to support people facing eviction.

·        £54,000 to support the Winter Rough Sleeping project coordinated by the Derbyshire Homeless Officers Group

·        £20,000 to Royal Action Derbyshire to support its Hardship Fund.

There was also support from, central government including the £400 energy bill discount with an additional £650 for benefit recipients, £300 for pensioner households, £150 for disability benefit recipients, a reduction to National Insurance contributions, and a Council Tax rebate. Energy bill support for businesses was also in place which would provide much needed support.

In response to a question from Councillor Fordham, the Leader agreed to meet him, along with representatives of the Chesterfield Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide, to discuss what further specific support could be provided.

The Executive Director for Corporate Services and Transformation introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, updating Council on the creation of a Transformation and Strategy division which sought agreement of the salary package for the role of Director of Transformation and Strategy.

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

RESOLVED:

To approve the salary package for the role of Director of Transformation and Strategy as Grade 18 and therefore, up to £103,169 per annum.

The Managing Director introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, presenting Council Plan performance and the Council’s final revenue outturn position for 2021-22.

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

RESOLVED to note:

1)   Council Plan performance and the revenue outturn position for 2021-22;

2)   The position on General and Earmarked Reserves;

3)   The allocation of underspend amounts and commitments to Portfolios as set out in paragraph 4.41 of the report;

4)   The release of all the sum of £14.000m held in the earmarked reserve as a contingency against potential funding losses during the Covid-19 recovery period as set out in paragraphs 4.42 of the report;

5)   The allocation, from the release of earmarked reserves and from underspends, of £10.000m to the Budget Management Earmarked Reserve, £10.000m to a reserve for inflation risks, £5.251m to a reserve for business rates risks and £4.000m to a reserve for cyber security as set out in paragraphs 4.42 to 4.45 of the report; and

6)   Contributions from the Finance and ICT budget of £0.010m to an earmarked reserve to support the modernisation of the ICT Traded Services team and £0.200m to provide temporary agency resources for the Operations team as detailed in paragraph 4.32 of the report.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, presenting the annual report of the Chairman of the Governance, Ethics and Standards Committee.

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

RESOLVED:

To note the annual report of the Chairman of the Governance, Ethics and Standards Committee attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval to amend the terms of reference of the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee and Officer Employment Procedure Rules for inclusion in the Constitution.

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

RESOLVED:

To approve the proposed amendments to the Officer Employment Rules and terms of reference of the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee, as set out in Appendix 2 and 3 to the report respectively, for inclusion in the Constitution.    

The Director of Finance and ICT introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval for the appointment of a new member of Derbyshire Pension Board.

On the motion of Councillor D Wilson, duly seconded it was

RESOLVED:

To approve the appointment of John Sadler as a Member Representative on Derbyshire Pension Board for a term of four years.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, that reported in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the executive decisions that had been taken as a matter of urgency where 28 days’ notice of the decision could not be given and call-in had been 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 in 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 in Appendix 3 to the report.

To consider public questions (if any)

None received.

To receive petitions (if any)

None received.

To consider questions submitted by Elected Members

1.  Question from Councillor E Fordham to Councillor C Hart, Cabinet Member for Health and Communities

“The Government have indicated that it will be possible to move between the application channels by Ukrainians who are seeking residence in the UK.  Can the Council be updated on whether this is in place and if there are any concerns about homelessness for any Ukrainians not within the Home for Ukraine scheme?”

Response from Councillor Lewis (in Councillor Hart's absence):

"There are two routes through which Ukrainian nationals are able to apply for a visa for UK residence, the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the Family Visa Scheme. The current guidance does not allow for the movement between the two schemes and we are not aware of any plans for this guidance to change. As we do not have any data or information on the numbers of Ukrainian nationals in Derbyshire under the Family Visa Route we would only become aware of them should they present to services. As such we are not able to comment on the potential homelessness issue for this cohort.

In relation to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme we are working closely with District and Borough Councils to develop a package of support to assist Ukrainian individuals and families to secure accommodation when their hosting arrangements come to an end."

Councillor Fordham asked the following supplementary question:

So it is quite possible that there are Ukrainians in Derbyshire who are not under the scheme with whom our staff are working who do have homelessness issues and unless they present we will be unaware of them at a statutory or a governmental or local government level. That is a contradiction to my understanding of what Home Office and Foreign Office Ministers have said.

Can I just ask the Leader if he would consider working with Councillor Hart to perhaps get the reassurances from Government that they will follow through what has been said in the Commons and indeed repeated in the Lords (and I can get the precise chapter and verse if necessary) which is that it would be possible to move between the two application schemes? As someone who is working with Ukrainians in the community (and Councillor Sutton will know much of this as well) being homeless is a real risk in rural Derbyshire and I think we have a responsibility to be proactive where we can. I hope the Leader will share my concerns and rise to that proactive occasion.

Councillor Lewis responded as follows:

"I will come back to you with a fuller written response on that particular topic. There are concerns and I think they are real enough within Derbyshire. I know from my own experience working with individuals in the Erewash area that this has been highlighted as a particular issue. It would cause us concern as a local authority but as I say I will come back with a fuller answer to your question."

2. Question from Councillor E Fordham to Councillor K  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80/22

Motion One

Councillor S Swann proposed a motion that was duly seconded, in the following terms:

"That Council supports a total ban on HGV drivers using standard car sat navs, and requests that the Leader writes to the Secretary of State for Transport calling on the Government to take urgent action by using its forthcoming Transport Bill to legally require all HGVs to employ specialist sat nav devices. 

Council also asks the Department for Transport to review legislation to allow Highway Authorities to deploy more effective signage to deter HGVs from using unsuitable roads.

The support of all MPs in the County is sought in tackling the blight caused by HGVs to numerous local communities as well as the impact this issue has on the safety, health, and general wellbeing of residents."

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

RESOLVED that:

1)    Council supports a total ban on HGV drivers using standard car sat navs, and requests that the Leader writes to the Secretary of State for Transport calling on the Government to take urgent action by using its forthcoming Transport Bill to legally require all HGVs to employ specialist sat nav devices;

2)    Council also asks the Department for Transport to review legislation to allow Highway Authorities to deploy more effective signage to deter HGVs from using unsuitable roads; and

3)    The support of all MPs in the County is sought in tackling the blight caused by HGVs to numerous local communities as well as the impact this issue has on the safety, health, and general wellbeing of residents.

Motion two

Councillor R George proposed a motion that was duly seconded, in the following terms:

To call upon the Cabinet of Derbyshire County Council to:

1)    declare a cost-of-living crisis in Derbyshire

2)    lead the way in acting with partner organisations, including the voluntary sector, to develop an anti-poverty strategy

3)    revise its Corporate Plan to reflect this situation and reallocate the use of reserves to match this commitment

4)    lobby the government to urgently put in place measures to help households throughout the oncoming Winter crisis

5)    make extra funding available, as it did during the pandemic, via the Community Leadership scheme to specifically help groups who are taking initiatives to help communities with the cost-of-living crisis

6)    ensure residents have the information and support they need to access all the assistance available to them via a “Quids In” type campaign.

An amendment to the motion was proposed by Councillor G Hickton, which was duly seconded, in the following terms:

To call upon the Cabinet of Derbyshire County Council to:

1)    In recognition of the international and national declare a cost-of-living crisis crises, in Derbyshirecontinue acting in meaningful ways to support the people of Derbyshireand reaffirm its determination that local residents are protected from the financial challenges driven by the combined effects of the Covid pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81/22