Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ken Jones, David Shaw and Carol Wooldridge.

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

That subject to the following amendments,

Minute 27, paragraph six: (amended wording)

In response to a question raised by Councillor Angela Turner concerning Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, the Leader, with the consent of Councillor Carol Wooldridge read out a confidential email, the link to which had been published on social media by Councillor Paul Wharton-Hardman, following a request made under the FOI Act, concerning Councillor’s emails. The email originally sent by the Leader to members of the Labour Group was extremely sensitive and the Leader considered that it should not have been placed on social media.

Minute 27, paragraph 7: (amended wording)

The Leader made a plea for this type of behaviour to stop and asked the Conservative Group to investigate Councillor Wharton-Hardman’s actions as a matter of urgency. Councillor Caroline Moon, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group provided assurances that the specifics of what had been released in an email thread had been duly noted. Councillor Moon did however query what information had to be disclosed upon request.

the minutes of the Council meeting held on 24 July 2019, be confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Mayor.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained within this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

Dave Whelan, Interim Monitoring Officer, declared a Personal Interest in Item 17.

Jane Blundell, Interim Section 151 Officer declared a Personal Interest in Item 18.

Councillor Michael Green declared a Personal Interest in Item 20 in his role as a Cabinet Member for Lancashire County Council.

Councillors Jim Marsh, David Howarth, Matthew Tomlinson and Barrie Yates all declared a Personal Interest in Item 20 as Elected Members for Lancashire County Council.

Councillor Matthew Campbell declared a Personal Interest in Item 20 as an employee of Lancashire County Council.

The Mayor provided an update on events he had recently attended and his forthcoming engagements.

To receive and consider a report of Cabinet held on 11 September 2019 attached.

Members considered a general report of the meeting of Cabinet held on 11 September 2019.

It was moved by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Foster, seconded by the Deputy Leader, Councillor Mick Titherington and subsequently

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

To receive and consider a report of Scrutiny Committee held on 2 September 2019 and the Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel held on 9 September 2019 attached.

Members considered a general report of the Scrutiny Committee that had taken place on 2 September and the Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel that had been held on 9 September 2019.

The Chair of Scrutiny, Councillor David Howarth commended the work that had been undertaken to date from both sides of the Chamber on helping to develop a robust Work Programme for the Committee.

It was moved by Councillor David Howarth, seconded by Councillor Colin Coulton and subsequently

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Director of Scrutiny and Democratic Services attached.

Council considered a report of the Assistant Director of Scrutiny and Democratic Services that made an outside body appointment to the Moss Side Community Forum Executive.

The Council had received a request from Moss Side Community Forum to appoint Councillor Colin Sharples to their Executive Committee.

The Leader of the Council explained that the community group had been having some problems regarding safeguarding and other issues and Councillor Sharples had assisted them in putting procedures in place to alleviate concerns. Following his involvement, the group had asked the Council to make a formal appointment.

It was moved by Councillor Paul Foster, seconded by Councillor Mick Titherington to appoint Councillor Colin Sharples to the Executive Committee of the Moss Side Community Forum.

Councillor Margaret Smith proposed an amendment to the motion, to allow for Councillor Michael Green to also be appointed to the Executive Committee of the Moss Side Community Forum as he was a Ward Councillor of Moss Side and had actively been involved with the group for several years. The amendment was seconded by Councillor Caroline Moon.

Upon being put to the vote, the amendment was lost (Yes: 21, No: 25).

A vote on the substantive motion was then taken and was

RESOLVED (Yes: 24, Abstained: 22) that the recommendation to appoint Councillor Colin Sharples to the Executive Committee of the Moss Side Community Forum be approved.

Report of the Interim Chief Executive attached.

Council considered a report of the Interim Chief Executive that sought approval of the revision of the Council’s Corporate Plan for 2019-23. The report detailed a revision of the Corporate Priorities which have been redefined as Outcomes. Each Outcome has between three and four priorities which defined how the Council’s Outcomes would be achieved.

The new revised Outcomes are as follows:

·         Excellent, Investment, Financial Sustainability

·         Health, Wellbeing and Safety

·         Place, Homes and Environment; and

·         Our People and Communities.

In summary, the changes made included an update vision for the Council, the inclusion of 13 new activities, along with 32 existing ones having been reviewed and refocused. The revised plan has a greater emphasis on the environment and climate change, tackling health inequalities and engagement with communities and development of active democracy and participation.

The Leader gave thanks to their Liberal Democrat colleagues who held a shared vision for the Council and also commended the bio-diversity work being undertaken by Councillors Bretherton and Campbell which had been incorporated as a new project in the revised Plan.

The Leader commented that the Council was committed to being open and transparent, continuing to develop the digital strategy and changing lifestyles by tacking the air quality issues of the borough. The Council also aimed to be carbon neutral by 2030. The review of the Neighbourhood Forums was about residents shaping their communities and they were looking forward to working with partners across the Borough, sharing skills and resources.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Margaret Smith commented that she was happy to see that a lot of projects that had been identified by the previous administration had remained in the revised Plan and welcomed the biodiversity work that was being undertaken by her colleagues.

Councillor Caroline Moon requested that the wording “bring back to life our parks” was amended to say “continue to be developed”, as this would send out the wrong message to staff. The Leader agreed to this being amended throughout the report.

Although queried by Councillor Alan Ogilvie, the Leader reiterated that there was a commitment by the Council, that the Borough would be carbon neutral by 2030, not just the Council.

Councillor Karen Walton reiterated that the residents of Farrington East, West and Lostock Hall had not been consulted on the recent Neighbourhood Forum changes and that there were concerns as to how funds would be spent in their areas. The Leader responded by saying that a number of residents and parish councillors had come forward to support the new arrangements but that the review on community engagement had not yet reached it conclusion so there was still time to get involved.

In response to a question regarding the proposals for a Youth Council, the Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Social Justice and Wealth Building declined to comment further until the review on Community Involvement was complete.

In response to questions around the planting of 110,000 trees across the Borough, the Cabinet Member for the Environment explained that a list  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Report of the Interim Chief Executive/Assistant Director of Projects and Development attached.

Council considered a joint report of the Interim Chief Executive and the Assistant Director of Projects and Development that updated Members on the development of a new Leisure Campus in South Ribble.

The report provided the history of the Leisure Campus project to date, the context of understanding the current state of the Leisure Stock within the borough, the options available for potential next steps and a brief summary of the current operations management of South Ribble’s Leisure Centres.

It was reported that a conditions survey had long since highlighted the need for significant investment in our leisure centres and the current contract with South Ribble, Community Leisure Ltd and SERCO Leisure Operating Ltd ends on 31 March 2021.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Foster explained the background to the report. During 2018, a joint working group of Members had pulled together a brief for a Campus style Leisure Centre on the West Paddock site that would replace the existing Leyland Leisure Centre. The brief culminated in a Cabinet report being considered in June 2018 which agreed to the appointment of a client Project Director to act on behalf of the Council to manage the project. A further report to Cabinet later in that year also saw an agreement to appoint consultants Faith and Gould, procured by the PAGABO framework on a fixed contract fee of £1.8m to support the Council through the design, procurement and building of the proposed new Campus style Leisure Centre. It was also agreed that any expenditure in £100k tranches would be reported back to Members, however, this would appear to have never been done, causing concern about the approach that was adopted in relation to the current spend to date.

The belief at that time, based on schemes elsewhere, was that the cost of the project would be in the region of 15m and this was allowed for in the Capital programme of the Council. Towards the end of 2018 there was recognition by the Project Manager, that the project would considerably exceed the £15m budgeted for, however this information was not communicated formally to all Members. A report had reportedly been written but this was never submitted to Cabinet. 

Members of the Shadow Cabinet admitted that there was a backlog of maintenance costs but this was one of the main reasons why the development of a new centre was being explored in the first place. There was a real need to build something that was fit for residents of the borough in the future. They also disputed that they had had sight of the updated costings at the beginning of the year. Councillor Margaret Smith commented that the 16m figure which was identified as the cost for development of the Leisure Pool was always mentioned in reports, but none of the other associated costs were ever mentioned. The Conservative Group were happy to support the recommendations in the report but did not necessarily consider the current site as the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Report of the Director of Planning and Property attached.

Council considered a report of the Director of Planning and Property that sought adoption of the B2 – Village Development Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The proposed SPD would become part of a suite of Central Lancashire SPDs that have already been adopted in accordance with the Local Planning Regulations and the National Planning Policy Framework conforming and responding to all relevant local and national policies, and based upon a robust and up-to-date evidence base.

There was agreement that the Council should undertake their own housing needs survey in relation to village development.

It was moved by Councillor Bill Evans, seconded by Councillor Mick Titherington, and

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

1.    That the Council adopts the B2 – Village Development Supplementary Planning Document.

2.    That the Council grants delegated authority to the Director of Planning and Property in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration and City Deal, to make any minor text, layout and formatting changes on the publication of the document. 

Report of the Head of Licensing attached.

The Council considered a report of the Head of Licensing that sought to review the existing fees policy and extend the current structure relating to fees for a further three years.

The three year fees policy would allow the Council to aggregate the costs over a longer period to give a fairer and more stable structure. Consultation had taken place with the licensed site operators within the Borough and the proposed revised fees policy published on the Council’s website.

The Licensing and Public Safety Committee had considered the report and were recommending Council approval.

It was moved by Councillor Susan Jones, seconded by Aniela Bylinski Gelder and

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

1.    That Council approves the extension of the current fee structure for a further three years.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Margaret Smith, circulated a social media thread that had been published by Councillor Wharton Hardman. Councillor Smith stated, that following the last Council meeting where Councillor Foster had accused Councillor Wharton Hardman of publishing inappropriate material on social media, she and her Deputy, Councillor Caroline Moon had met with the Leader of the Council to clarify the actions undertaken by Councillor Wharton Hardman, to try to ascertain why Councillor Foster had publicly attacked him and stated that he was owed an apology.

The Leader of the Council responded to say that he was disappointed by this action, he had met with Councillors Margaret Smith and Caroline Moon and had agreed to a change of wording to be reflected in the minutes, which had been undertaken at the start of the meeting. However, he did not accept that Councillor Paul Wharton Hardman had done no wrong.

Councillor Margaret Smith stated that she would not be asking Councillor Wharton Hardman to apologise because in her opinion he had done no wrong and that he had the support of the Conservative Group in this matter.

Councillor Caroline Moon asked the Leader of the Council if he would provide assurances that sensitive medical information would not be sent via email in future. The Leader responded by asking Councillor Moon to write to him separately about this issue.

A member of the public, Mr Darbyshire made a public apology to the Council for a letter that had been published in the local paper that had been misconstrued and stated that his retraction had been published that day. The Leader of the Council accepted his apology.

Mr Darbyshire also asked why the Extending of Shared Services and City Deal Update was being considered by Council in private session. The Leader explained that although he had asked for the two reports to be made public, it had not been possible at this stage, he promised to publish a public statement as soon as was practically possible with regards to both items.

Questions to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member (Health, Wellbeing and Leisure).

Councillor Karen Walton asked the Cabinet Member what he thought about the latest news that Chorley and South Ribble District Hospital’s Accident and Emergency unit faces closure as part of a series of options to be presented by the Our Health Our Care team.

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Mick Titherington stated that there was an expectation that a motion would be brought to the next Council meeting that will be properly debated upon.

A member of the public who spoke on behalf of the Chorley and South Ribble Hospital Campaign explained that they were trying to meet with all the authorities that were affected by the proposals before submitting their views to the consultation and thanked South Ribble Borough Council for its quick response.

Councillor Mick Titherington affirmed his confirmation of the meeting.

Questions to the Cabinet Member (Finance, Property and Assets).

Councillor Ange Turner submitted a written question as follows:

Is the Cabinet Member aware that we have residents in the Borough who without any financial recompense are providing food and shelter to refugees awaiting a Home Office decision on their asylum appeal, in support of the Refugees at Home national charity.

Would the Cabinet Member agree with me that residents who have shown compassion to others should not find themselves in a situation whereby they lose their single tax discount and are financially penalised as a result.

Would the Cabinet Member consider amending the policy of this council to allow the single person discount from the council tax to remain in place under such circumstances?

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, responded as follows:

The changing of the Council Tax discounts and exemptions applicable would need to be changed via central Government legislation. However there is a provision within the Council tax recovery policy which will allow the Council to write off additional financial burden (difference in the Council tax bill) by using the ‘social factors’ criteria in the recovery policy.

Councillor Ange Turner added that Norwich City Council have amended their policy for people in this situation and Councillor Matthew Tomlinson said that he was happy to look at how other Councils had approached this issue.

Councillor Alan Ogilvie ask the Cabinet Member when they could expect to see the responses to the Worden Hall consultation now that it had ended.

The Cabinet Member, explained that a report would be going to the next Cabinet meeting on 16 October 2019 that would contain all the comments that had been received by the Council. The consultation period had been extended and over 500 responses had been submitted.

Councillor Colin Clark commented that he was pleased to see completion of phase one of the Business and Conference Centre, and asked if bookings had increased and if there were plans for taking forward phase two of the project. The Cabinet Member responded to say that there had been an increase in bookings and that he was currently working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

Questions to the Chairs of Committees.

None.

Questions to the Chairs of My Neighbourhood Areas.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Foster asker Councillor Jane Bell, Chair of the Leyland Central Neighbourhood Forum to give an overview on the work of the group to date.

Councillor Jane Bell explained that bringing together Leyland with Farington East and Farington West had not been without its difficulties. However, a number of planning meetings had now taken place with projects in all three areas having been discussed and agreed upon. Farington Councillors have been attending regularly and been actively involved and she was confident that the Forum would work effectively for all its residents.

Questions to the Member Champion (Youth)

In response to a question from Councillor Keith Martin, Councillor Matthew Trafford explained how he had been engaging with young people across the Borough and discovered that a lot of young people are disillusioned with politics as a whole. Councillor Trafford had also met with the existing Youth Council who are angry with the cuts that have been made to the service. He would continue to work closely with them to make improvements and promote better engagement with young people across the Borough.

Questions to Representatives on Outside Bodies.

None.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public for the following items of business on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph(s) 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Paragraph 1: Information relating to any individual.

Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item of business as it involved the discussion of information defined as exempt from publication under paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, ‘Information relating to an individual’ and ‘Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) ‘and in which the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.

The meeting was adjourned for a short comfort break.

Report of the Interim Chief Executive attached.

Dave Whelan, Interim Monitoring Officer left the meeting.

Council considered a report of the Interim Chief Executive that presented proposals to extend shared services as developed by C.Co who are independent consultants who had been commissioned on behalf of the Shared Services Joint Committee.

A detailed session with Members had recently taken place on the proposals and there was a general acceptance across the Chamber that the new arrangements would provide greater resilience across both Councils. The new structure had slightly changed from what was originally agreed in 2017, incorporating more corporate services areas and to establish governance arrangements and an internal implementation team to further investigate opportunities for sharing in the future.

Although in favour, the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Margaret Smith voiced her concerns about the timing of the proposals, preferring to wait until matters with the Chief Executive have been resolved. The Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Foster responded by saying that he was comfortable with the new arrangements as the Chief Executive position was still in the new structure, available at both Councils.

It was moved by Councillor Paul Foster, seconded by Councillor Mick Titherington, and

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

1.    That Phase 1 of the proposals to extend shared services which includes establishing seven shared senior post be approved.

2.    That the governance model and implementation timescales as set out in the report be approved.

3.    That the establishment of a project team and creation of an implementation budget to progress the implementation and transformation of Phase 1, the development of a joint digital strategy and shared board, and the development of a business case for Phase 2 be approved.

4.    That the review and refresh of the Shared Services Agreement based on the principles set out in the report be approved.

Report of the Director of Policy and Governance (Chorley Council) attached.

Dave Whelan, Interim Monitoring Officer returned to the meeting.

Jane Blundell, Interim Section 151 Officer left the meeting.

Council considered a report of the Director of Policy and Governance (Chorley Council) that briefed Members on a review, and amendments to, the existing shared services for finance between South Ribble Borough Council and Chorley Borough Council.

With the ambition to expand the scope of shared services between Chorley and South Ribble Councils, there is an excellent opportunity to move forward and review the current management accountancy functions with a view to aligning the services more closely.

The paper outlined the need for change within the service to equalise the level of resources available to each council, address differences in approaches to work across the two sites, prepare for succession planning and manage the likely increase and change in workload the services will undoubtedly experience in the coming years.

It was moved by Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, seconded by Councillor Aniela Bylinski Gelder, and

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

1.    That the proposed changes to management accountancy teams outlined in paragraph 22 of the report be approved.

2.    That formal consultation commence after approval with both Council’s Cabinet in November 2019.

3.    That a one-off budget of £50K for staff training and development funded through the savings identified be approved.

Report of the Director of Policy and Governance (Chorley Council) attached.

Jane Blundell, Interim Section 151 Officer returned to the meeting.

Council considered a report of the Director of Policy and Governance (Chorley Council) that briefed Members on the review of, and amendments to, financial systems and exchequer services as part of the existing shared services for finance between South Ribble Borough Council and Chorley Borough Council.

It was proposed by Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, seconded by Councillor Aniela Bylinski Gelder, and

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

That the changes to the Financial Systems and Exchequer Services outlined in paragraph 13 of the report be approved.

Report of the Director of Planning and Property attached.

Councillors Michael Green, Jim Marsh and Barrie Yates left the meeting.

Council considered a report of the Director of Planning and Property that updated Members on the current position of the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal and sought a view on the future of the City Deal.

It was reported that the City Deal is at a critical point in shaping its future. There are significant concerns around the City Deal finance model whereby costs particularly for highway infrastructure, have risen substantially. Furthermore income in to the City Deal model has not come forward as quickly as planned in the delivery of new homes and key sites such as Cuerden had been slower than forecasted. Furthermore, Central Government have changed key inputs such as the amount received on New Homes Bonus and there is ongoing uncertainty over the format of business rates.

The Leader of the Council wanted to make it clear that the current situation was not as a result of the previous administration. Councillor Margaret Smith, Leader of the Opposition acknowledged this and explained that she had been trying to get an update on the current position of the City Deal for some a considerable time. All members were strongly of the opinion that an independent external audit of all spend to date and in the future should be carried out as soon as possible.

Despite repeatedly asking for an update report from Lancashire County Council, one had not been forthcoming so one of the Council’s own Finance Officers had pulled together the detailed report that was now before members and which identified a funding gap of £141m.

If the City Deal was to continue, new arrangements needed to be agreed between the partners. The emerging revised Heads of Terms, would place significant financial risk on South Ribble Borough Council that all Members deemed unacceptable.

There were however, a number of current external funding bids under development for consideration for City Deal projects that if successful, could assist significantly in meeting the financial gap. One such example is the Homes England Small Sites Fund, which could add an additional £60m in to the City Deal model but was contingent on further housing coming forward in both South Ribble and Preston over a longer time period. There was however a strong feeling amongst Members that this money should stop within South Ribble has all the identifiable sites left, fell inside the borough.

Members were presented with three options to consider within the report that centred on the way forward. Whether to continue, withdraw or seek a revised deal. Key considerations were identified against each of the options and a revised set of recommendations were read out at the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor Paul Foster, seconded by Councillor Bill Evans and

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

1.    That Council expresses its strong commitment to provide positive support to enable the City Deal to continue;

2.    That Council expresses its deep concern at the current projected funding gap;

3.    That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.