Meeting documents

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Clark, Ms Hamilton, Hancock, Howarth and Watts.

There were no declarations of interest.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.
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The Mayor provided an update on the events she had recently attended and her forthcoming engagements.

In moving the report of the Cabinet, the Leader indicated that she had received a response from Buckingham Palace thanking the Council for the letter which was sent to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the country?s longest reigning monarch.

Councillor Bennett, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, referred to the concern previously expressed regarding Business Rates Retention (BRR) Proposed Pooling Arrangements. He stated that the due diligence had still to be completed as the Government guidance was still awaited. Therefore, the delegated decision had yet to be taken. He would inform Councillor Foster when this had been done. Councillor Foster thanked and appreciated the update from the Cabinet Member, but added that he would continue to challenge all big decisions delegated to Cabinet Members unless there were exceptional circumstances.

Following a statement from Councillor Wharton concerning the Scrutiny Review of Loneliness and Social Isolation affecting Older People, Councillor Foster explained that his comment that the Scrutiny Committee was exceptionally disappointed at the Cabinet?s response to the review was on behalf on the Scrutiny Committee Chairman and not the Committee as stated within the Cabinet Report.

The report was seconded.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:
1) That the report be noted;
2) Central Lancashire Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Supplementary Planning Document
(a) That Council adopts the Central Lancashire Biodiversity and Nature Conservation SPD attached at Appendix 1 to the report; and
(b) That the Planning Manager in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Housing be delegated authority to make any minor text, layout and formatting changes on the publication of the document
3) Business Rates Retention (BRR) Proposed Pooling Arrangements 2016/17
(a) That Council approves South Ribble Borough Council joining the proposed Lancashire Business Rates Pool Agreement for the financial year 2016/17 should a due diligence review in September 2015 evidence it is potentially financially beneficial to the Council.
(b) That the final decision to join the pool, post the due diligence review, be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.
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In presenting the report of the Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 22 September 2015, Councillor Titherington informed Council that he had contacted the Chief Executive of United Utilities concerning the recent issues with drinking water and that he had agreed to attend a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee. The report was seconded.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Healthy Communities, Councillor Michael Green, expressed his disappointment with the report in that it didn?t refer to the two occasions when he had referred to the steps being made for the Council becoming dementia friendly. Councillor Titherington explained that the report only details the recommendations made at the meeting.
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Councillor Mrs Smith presented the report of the Boundary Committee meetings held on 3 and 27 August 2015. The report was seconded.

Councillor Ogilvie presented the report of the Governance Committee meeting held on 23 September 2015 and highlighted a number of salient discussion points from the meeting.

He specifically referred to the report on the Review of Investment Counterparties 2015/16. He said that each of the four Committee members had raised their own particular concerns and challenges regarding the potential use of these new investment opportunities. In particular, when challenged by the Committee for the detail of those options, it became clear from the responses that the level of specific information was, at this stage, limited. Councillor Ogilvie indicated that the Governance Committee had requested that, should Council approve the report, detailed information of the new potential options be presented to the Governance Committee before any such specific investment decisions were made. In addition, should Council approve the recommendation enabling the potential use of a wider range of investment options, Internal Audit be asked to include a review of the investment decision activity as part of their annual audit plan.

The report was seconded.

Councillor Foster indicated that unfortunately he was unable to attend the Governance Committee but had discussed this with the Chief Executive, the Director and the Cabinet Member. He stated that this was one of the most important decisions this Council would make and that he had also picked up similar points raised by Councillor Ogilvie.

Councillor Bennett said that he would save his comments until the relevant item on the agenda, but took the opportunity to thank the officers involved for all their hard work with finalising the accounts and that it was greatly appreciated.
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Councillor Bennett, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, presented the report which outlined performance in the last five months and compliance with prudential indicators. The report asked Council to approve a number of proposed changes to Prudential and Treasury Indicators.

Councillor Bennett explained that the changes were mainly technical adjustments which had already been reported to other committees. He added that not all the ?33m of the cash currently available for investment was due to the Council as this was prior to Council Tax and NNDR being paid by the Council to the Government and other local authorities.

The report was seconded.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:
That Council approves changes to Prudential Indicators and Treasury Indicators as presented in Appendix B.
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Councillor Bennett presented the report which summarised a review of investment options with the view of proposing an updated list of Investment Counterparties, which would tend to achieve a higher return without sacrificing security or liquidity.

Drawing attention to the benchmarking graph in Appendix A, Councillor Bennett considered that this Council was slightly below where it should be at this moment in time and suggested that the recommendations in the report would allow the authority greater flexibility in its approach to investments. He stated that this would be subject to further due diligence and in moving the report agreed to consult further with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Governance Committee in respect of the use of Property Funds once the specific due diligence had been completed.

The report was seconded.

Councillor Foster thanked Councillor Bennett for the time he had spent with him prior to the meeting to discuss the report. He understood the importance of the report and the need to increase the options for the portfolio as it could leave the council open to criticism.
Referring to the Governance Committee, Councillor Mrs Snape indicated that key questions had been asked at the meeting to ensure that extra due diligence would take place as they did need that reassurance.

A member of the public suggested that the council should look for the best returns on money which needed to be invested for the short and long term, providing that security came before speculation because of what happened in 2008. He added that the Council still hadn?t recovered from when money was invested in the Icelandic banks.

In thanking the member of the public for his comments, Councillor Bennett responded that it was now a different world to 2008 and out of the money invested at that time only ?40,000 was now outstanding and it was hoped that this would be returned.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:
(1) That Council approves a revised list of Investment Counterparties for the remainder of 2015/16 as presented as a table in section 7 of the report.
(2) That the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources consult further with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Governance Committee in respect of the use of Property Funds once the specific due diligence has been completed.
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Councillor Mrs Smith presented a report of the findings of The Independent Remuneration Panel which had completed a review of members? allowances under the Local Authorities (Members? Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003.

The report enabled members to consider adjustments to the existing Scheme of Members? Allowances to reflect the reduction in Council members, new committee structures move to My Neighbourhoods from Area Committees and to make other appropriate amendments.

In moving the report, Councillor Mrs Smith commented that considering a report which made recommendations on our own level of remuneration, was not a position any member wanted to be in. She referred to the previous occasions when members allowances had been considered at Council and apart from minor changes there had been no increase in that 12 year period. The recommendations were not too dissimilar to those considered in 2008 which had been debated long and hard but had fallen by the wayside.

The Leader thanked members of the Panel and officers for all their hard work in producing the final recommendations and suggested that a letter be sent to the Panel expressing the Council?s appreciation.

She concluded by stating that there was only one issue which hadn?t been addressed which was the start date of the new allowance scheme. It had been suggested that the most appropriate date would be 11 May 2015 as this was the start date of the term of office of the current councillors. In proposing this start date and the recommendations of the panel, the Leader moved the report.

Councillor Foster agreed with the Leader that councillors should not be put into this position and that Panel should be thanked for the time they had given towards concluding their deliberations. He stated that South Ribble Councillors currently receive the lowest allowance in the country and that councillors must take some responsibility for an element of this as they had continually disregarded the severity of the issue. The Panel had concluded that this Council?s allowances were substantially out of line with the average total allowances paid by other Councils across Lancashire and nation-wide. The report stated that the current low level of allowances was a barrier to some people being involved in local democracy. In his view, democracy should be open to everyone not just those who could afford it. Councillor Foster agreed that the recommendations should be accepted in full so that it was totally independent. He concluded by stating that the new allowance was equivalent to approximately ?2 per resident which he felt was superb value for money and seconded the report.
A member of the public agreed, stating that in his view the ratepayers of South Ribble were extremely well served by a dedicated team of councillors from different political parties. He indicated that he had been asked to stand as a councillor at the last borough elections but had declined for certain reasons but this was not because of remuneration as he felt councillors should put civic duty before remuneration. However, he added that no councillor should be out of pocket to give service to the ratepayer but that it should not be a priority for taking the position. He thought there were two issues with the report. The first being that other local authority?s allowances were larger than this Councils and could it be that theirs might be too high rather than this council?s being too low. The second and most important was the cost, if the scheme was to be implemented.

A further member of the public, who was previously a councillor, indicated that when he first became a councillor 12 years ago he felt that councillors should not receive an allowance. He indicated that the longer he spent as councillor, and the more he realised what time and expense the role required, the more he realised this wasn?t the case.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:
(1) That Council accepts all the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel;
(2) That the start date of the new allowance scheme be 11 May 2015, which was the start date of the term of office of the current councillors; and
(3) That the Panel and officers involved in the review be thanked for all their hard work and that a letter be sent to the Panel expressing the Council?s appreciation.
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Following a question from a member of the public concerning discussions on the realignment of Borough Councils roles and responsibilities, the Leader indicated that the only discussions which had taken place related to combined authorities and that she had provided Council with updates on this.

Corporate Support

There were no questions.

Finance & Resources

In response to a question from a member of public concerning car parking on Worden Park, the Cabinet Member indicated that a meeting had been arranged which would discuss Runshaw College using the parks overflow car park.

Housing & Healthy Communities

Following a question from Councillor Wharton, the Cabinet Member provided an update of what steps were being taken to support the work of the Police to tackle anti-social behaviour, particularly around Tesco in Towngate, and McDonalds in Leyland. Councillor Green stated that the CCTV camera at the Hough Lane Roundabout had been replaced earlier that week. The new camera would provide good coverage of the surrounding area including Hough Lane, the full length of Chapel Brow and the McDonalds site and would be a valuable resource to the Police in dealing with anti-social behaviour issues in this area.

He continued to say that a number of calls had recently been made to the police regarding issues at Tescos and McDonalds. It was thought these had been caused by the same group of young people who migrate between the two hotspots. The more significant issues were at the McDonalds site and that the vast majority of the calls had been made by staff. Following a meeting In July attended by the Council, Police, Fire Service and McDonalds, the Police implemented a zero tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour which had resulted in successful prosecutions. A meeting in August reported that there had been a significant reduction in calls to the Police. Councillor Green indicated that McDonalds had been fully cooperative with the Police. Councillor Forrest expressed concern that as ward councillor he had not been made aware of these meetings. The Cabinet Member informed him that it was not always possible to keep everyone informed of meetings but would try to keep Councillor Forrest updated where possible.

Councillor Heyworth referred to a recent incident on Tesco Car Park which had led him to ask Tesco if he could view footage from their CCTV camera. As the incident was after 5pm he was informed that camera wouldn?t have recorded this and he asked the Cabinet Member if he was able to assist with this. Councillor Green indicated that ultimately it was Tesco?s decision, but he would have expected it to be available 24 hours a day. He agreed to write to them to clarify this.

Following a question from Councillor Martin concerning The Maltings, the Cabinet Member informed him this had been discussed at a meeting some weeks ago but that there had not been an update since. As soon as he heard something he would share it with Councillor Martin.

Neighbourhoods & Street Scene

In response to a question from Councillor Heyworth, the Cabinet Member indicated that he was not aware of the issues of parking on Parkgate Drive, Cumberland Avenue and Royal Avenue until now. He indicated that he would look into the matter and if it needed addressing would support Councillor Heyworth with trying to resolve the problem. A member of the public was surprised by this response as he had raised the matter on a regular basis.

Responding to a further question from Councillor Heyworth, Councillor Mullineaux was unsure where the councillor had received the information from regarding the ?150,000 expenditure for the provision, repair and maintenance of the 11 under used pitches on Worden Park. He stated that there were 40 pitches throughout the borough and the total cost of their maintenance was ?38,000. The income from those pitches was just over ?9,000 which gave an average net cost of ?711 per pitch. He added that a letter had been sent to the football clubs reminding them not to use Parkgate Drive. In addition, it was also included within the contracts to use the pitches.

A member of the public asked the Cabinet Member questions relating to public toilets within various parks within the borough, use of Parkgate Drive by dog walkers to access Worden Park and concerns regarding faecal contamination of parks. Councillor Mullineaux indicated that he was unable to answer such technical questions with such short notice and would respond to the member of the public direct. He suggested that in future the member of the public should give him advance warning of the question or preferably contact him directly so that he could provide a full response. Councillor Martin indicated that the toilets at the Coach House on Hurst Grange Park had recently had ?2000 spent to upgrade them.

Regeneration & Leisure

There were no questions.

Strategic Planning

There were no questions.
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There were no questions.

There were no questions.

Notice of the following motion had been submitted in accordance with standing order number 9(2). The motion was proposed by Councillor Mrs S Jones and seconded by Councillor Ms J Bell.

?Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain, the most common of which is Alzheimer's. 225,000 people develop dementia every year, that's roughly one person every three minutes. 850,000 people live with dementia in the UK, estimated to rise to over 1.1 million by 2025, more than the entire population of Birmingham.

Dementia mainly affects older people and after the age of 65, the likelihood of developing dementia roughly doubles every five years

The Alzheimer's Society Dementia 2014 Survey reported that 40% of people with dementia felt lonely and 34% do not feel part of their community. There is a similar impact on the carer.

82 communities are now registered as Dementia Friendly Communities, including Ribble Valley, exceeding the original ambition in the Prime Minister's Challenge of 20 by March 2015. These are the communities that are working to help people live well with their dementia.

This motion seeks to add South Ribble Borough Council to the ranks of forward thinking authorities who have already taken this step.

"South Ribble Borough Council accepts the Prime Minister's challenge and proposes to sign up to become an Alzheimer's Society Dementia Friendly Borough and will create an Older People's Partnership, chaired by the Older People's Champion, to ensure that people with dementia are understood, respected and supported by their community.??

In moving the motion, Councillor Mrs Jones stated that on 26th February 2015, as part of the Scrutiny Committee?s Task Group Review into loneliness and social isolation, over sixty people from thirty organisations had been invited to a workshop at the Civic Centre. It was a resoundingly successful day where providers and stake holders exchanged ideas, opinions and information. In many ways it was quite shocking to discover how little groups knew about each other?s work in the community and yet there were 106 examples of good practice. She added that two remarks stood out for her that day which emphasized the urgent need for this Council to tackle the growing problems linked to our ageing population; ?Doing nothing is simply not an option? and ?We need at some point to implement all the suggestions made?.

Councillor Mrs Jones then referred to the timeline of when the report was considered at each meeting concluding with the Scrutiny Committee on 22 September when the Cabinet Member?s portfolio was scrutinised.

She continued to state that criteria 1 of the Alzheimer?s Society Recognition Process stated that; ?Make sure you have the right local structure in place to maintain a sustainable dementia friendly community.? She suggested that the setting up of an Older People?s Partnership would enable the Council to do that as it would bring together individuals and organisations with shared aims to help the community become more dementia friendly.

Criteria 2 of the Recognition Process said; ?Identify a person or people to take responsibility for driving forward the work to support your community to become dementia friendly and ensure that individuals, organisations and businesses are meeting their stated commitments.? In response to this Councillor Mrs Jones said that we all had a moral obligation to support our ageing population, and dementia was just one of the tragic outcomes we were all faced with. This is why the creation of an Older People?s Partnership was important to enable this to move forward. This Partnership would be able to concentrate solely and fully on the task of ensuring our older people and their carers have a good quality of life and that support is available and provided when needed.

Councillor Ms Bell rose to second the motion stating that she had been asked to do so as Shadow Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Healthy Communities and that she was delighted to do so despite having worked with teenagers all her life. She referred to a family member who suffered from Dementia and how this had affected him and his family?s life. She was sure that a number of people in the Council Chamber had also watched much loved family and friends suffer in a similar way and how distressing that was for everyone.

Referring to the problems that were encountered at shops and restaurants, Councillor Ms Bell suggested that members of staff should be trained so that they were aware of the symptoms of Dementia and that they could then become Dementia friendly. Having strong leadership from the Older People?s Champion could make these things happen.

In concluding she stated that as a society with an aging population, the Council as a corporate body should have no doubts or hesitation about supporting this motion.

Councillor Michael Green, Cabinet Member for Housing & Healthy Communities, rose to move an amendment to the motion so that it read as follows:-

?Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain, the most common of which is Alzheimer's. 225,000 people develop dementia every year, that's roughly one person every three minutes. 850,000 people live with dementia in the UK, estimated to rise to over 1.1 million by 2025, more than the entire population of Birmingham.

Dementia mainly affects older people and after the age of 65, the likelihood of developing dementia roughly doubles every five years

The Alzheimer's Society Dementia 2014 Survey reported that 40% of people with dementia felt lonely and 34% do not feel part of their community. There is a similar impact on the carer.

82 communities are now registered as Dementia Friendly Communities, including Ribble Valley, exceeding the original ambition in the Prime Minister's Challenge of 20 by March 2015. These are the communities that are working to help people live well with their dementia.

This motion notes that South Ribble Borough Council has committed to join the ranks of forward thinking authorities who have already taken this step.

"South Ribble Borough Council welcomes the commitment already given to accept the Prime Minister's challenge and to agree to sign up to become an Alzheimer's Society Dementia Friendly Borough to ensure that people with dementia are understood, respected and supported by their community.??

Following a request from Councillor Foster, the Mayor agreed to adjourn the meeting to enable members to consider the amended motion.

The meeting adjourned at 8.05pm and reconvened at 8.14pm.

Councillor Michael Green rose to speak on his amendment and started by thanking all councillors for their work leading up to this motion. He referred to a comment raised by Councillor Ms Bell which was ?to do nothing was simply not an option?. Referring to the Scrutiny Committee on 22 September 2015, Councillor Green indicated that he had said on two occasions that this Council was committed to becoming a Dementia Friendly Borough and that he still fully supports this. This follows on from the good work carried out by former Councillor Ms Walker and the Western Parishes My Neighbourhood Forum.

He informed Council that he had recently attended a course on this matter and encouraged everyone to attend. He explained the reasoning for deleting the Older Peoples Partnership Board but there were alternative methods of taking this forward and suggested South Ribble Partnership as an option.

Councillor Mrs Nathan seconded the amendment.

Following a question from Councillor Titherington, Councillor Green confirm that that if the motion was agreed it would be progressed using the Alzheimer?s Society Recognition Process Criteria.

The Leader, Councillor Mrs Smith stated that it was obvious by the debate that this issue meant a lot to everyone. She said that it was not always older people that suffered from Dementia and that we should be aware that it affected others too. We needed to listen to all those suffering and see what we can do as a Council to help and that we should embrace becoming a Dementia Friendly borough.

Councillor Mrs Jones accepted the amendment and members took a vote on the amended motion.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:
That the motion be carried.
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