Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Benton, Burton, D Day, Fower, Nash and Scott.

The Solicitor to the Council advised Members that owning a house or other property, or conducting business relating to property did not require that Members declare this as an interest in relation to item 7(i)(b) on the agenda unless that Member thought it necessary to do so.

No declarations of interest were received.

The minutes of the meetings held on 16 May 2011 were agreed and signed by the Mayor as an accurate record.

(i)                  Mayor’s Announcements

(ii)                Leader’s Announcements

(iii)               Chief Executive’s Announcements

4(i) Mayor’s Announcements

Members noted the report outlining the Mayor’s engagements for the period Tuesday 17 May to Thursday 30 June 2011.

The Mayor made a further announcement advising Members that her chosen charities had changed so that the Royal British Legion Women’s Section would replace Help for Heroes.

4(ii) Leader’s Announcements

There were no announcements from the Leader of the Council.

4(iii) Chief Executive’s Announcements

There were no announcements from the Chief Executive.

(i)         Questions with Notice by Members of the Public

(ii)        Questions with Notice by Members of the Council relating to Ward Matters and to Committee Chairmen

(iii)       Questions with Notice by Members of the Council to representatives of the Police and Fire Authorities;

(iv)       Petitions submitted by Members or Residents.

5(i) Questions with Notice by Members of the public

There were no questions raised.

5(ii) Questions with notice by Members of the Council relating to ward matters to Cabinet Members and to Committee Chairmen

Questions relating to Ward matters were taken as read in respect of the following:

·         Traffic management around Dogsthorpe Infant and Junior schools and their possible merging;

·         Ward related press releases and the publication of quotes by Ward Councillors; and

·         Use of Section 106 monies for improvements to facilities in Central Park.

A summary of all questions and answers raised within agenda items 5(iii) are attached at Appendix A.

5(iii) Questions with Notice by Members of the Council to representatives of the Police and Fire Authorities

Questions to the representative of the Police Authority were taken as read in respect of the following:

·         Use of public consultation to find solutions to ongoing issues;

·         Policing levels in Barnack Ward following closure of the police house;

·         Use of land in Dogsthorpe to temporarily site Travellers; and

·         Police powers to tackle dog fouling and occasions these powers have been used.

Questions to the representative of the Fire Authority were taken as read in respect of the following:

·         Future proposals for services of Peterborough’s two main Fire Stations (Dogsthorpe and Stanground) following saving targets.

A summary of all questions and answers raised within agenda items 5(iii) are attached at Appendix A.

5(iv) Petitions submitted by Members or Residents

Councillor Lee submitted a petition from local residents requesting residents parking be introduced on Fletton Avenue.

(i)         Questions with Notice to the Leader and Members of the Executive

(ii)        Questions without Notice on the Record of Executive Decisions

6(i) Questions with Notice to the Leader and Members of the Executive

Questions to the Leader and Members of the Executive were taken as read in respect of the following:

·         Progress on the North Westgate development;

·         Youth provision in areas where there are no established youth clubs;

·         How partners are selected for University Centre Peterborough;

·         Measures to tackle parking on pavements;

·         How land, specifically the Dogsthorpe Triangle, is authorised for use by Gypsy and Travellers;

·         Central government regulations against local controls and the Neighbourhood Strategy;

·         Number of fines issued regarding dog fouling for previous two years;

·         Outcome of the play centre review;

·         Educational attainment of and provision for children in care; and

·         Non-use of fountains in Cathedral Square.

A summary of all questions and answers raised within agenda items 6(i) are attached at Appendix B.

6(ii) Questions without Notice on the Record of Executive Decisions

Members received and noted a report summarising:

·         Decisions from the Cabinet Meeting held on 13 June 2011;

·         Use of the Council’s call-in mechanism, which had not been invoked since the last meeting;

·         Special Urgency and Waiver of Call-in provision, which had been invoked once since the previous meeting ; and

·         Cabinet Member Decisions taken during the period 31 March 2011 to 28 June 2011.

      Questions were asked about the following:

Review of the use of Consultants

Councillor Sandford queried why some of the recommendations from the scrutiny review were not accepted.  Councillor Seaton responded that the recommendations that were not accepted were able to be carried out within other recommendations that Cabinet agreed or that systems were already in place to address those concerns. 

Councillor Sandford further queried why the Cabinet Member had not attended the review group to voice his concerns over any recommendations.  Councillor Seaton advised Members that he was not requested to attend a meeting of the review group.  On a point of information, Councillor Lee advised that he had been invited to attend the review group but that invitation was then cancelled.

Councillor Murphy raised a question regarding whether consultants should declare membership of other organisations such as the Freemasons as other officers need to.  Councillor Seaton advised that there were no recommendations put to Cabinet to that effect so no decision was taken on that issue.

The Solicitor to the Council reminded Members that questions must be relevant to the decisions taken or recommendations agreed by Cabinet and Cabinet Members.

Councillor Miners raised a question clarifying the term ‘appropriate circumstances’ that was used in recommendation 11.  Councillor Seaton gave the example where if a manager or other officer was employed through Manor Drive on an interim basis, if that role was being outsourced through the Manor Drive contract or would not exist in the future within the Council, it would not then be deemed appropriate to request that they sign a Council contract. 

Energy Services Company (ESCO) and other Energy Related Products

Councillor Shearman queried whether everything possible was being done to meet the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

(i)                   Executive Recommendations:

(a)               Safer Peterborough Partnership Plan 2011-2014

(b)               Local Authority Mortgage Scheme

(ii)                  Reports and Recommendations:

(a)               Annual Report of the Standards Committee

7(i) Executive Recommendations

a)   Safer Peterborough Partnership Plan 2011-14

Cabinet at its meeting of 13 June received a report presenting the refreshed version of the Safer Peterborough Partnership Plan to approve prior to Full Council.  The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 required that a Community Safety Partnership was formed by the bringing together of agencies who had a statutory responsibility for tackling crime and disorder in the local area.  It was acknowledged that far more could be achieved to make Peterborough a safer place if agencies worked together rather than in isolation. 

Councillor Walsh introduced and moved the recommendation that Council approves the Safer Peterborough Partnership 3-year Plan (2011-2014), highlighting the need to protect vulnerable people and tackle the causes of offending to bring continued benefits to the community.  This was seconded by Councillor Hiller.

During debate, concerns were raised about the level of engagement with residents groups especially around road safety initiatives.

Following debate, a vote was taken (unanimous) and it was RESOLVED to:

Approve the Safer Peterborough Partnership 3-year Plan (2011-2014).

b)   Local Authority Mortgage Scheme

The Mayor advised Council that Members would have the opportunity to ask questions on Decisions from the Cabinet meeting on 13 June, of which the corresponding Cabinet report was included in the agenda papers for background information, before debating the Cabinet recommendation and scheme eligibility policy.

A question was raised about declarations of interest from Cabinet Members for this item at the previous Cabinet meeting.  The Solicitor to the Council advised that questions should be about the decision taken by Cabinet and not about the procedures of the Cabinet meeting itself.  No more questions were received.

Cabinet at its meeting of 13 June received a report entitled Local Authority Mortgage Scheme following consideration as to how the Council could support first time buyers and the local housing market; help deliver the Council’s priority of delivering substantial and truly sustainable growth and seeking Cabinet approval for the Council to participate in the Local Authority Mortgage Scheme.  Cabinet considered the report and approved three of the recommendations, referring the fourth to Council; to approve the local policy for scheme eligibility following its development by the responsible Cabinet Members.  The scheme had subsequently been developed and submitted with the agenda papers for the attention of all Members.

Councillor Seaton introduced and moved the recommendation that Council agree to amend the Peterborough Housing Strategy, specifically the inclusion of the local eligibility policy for the Local Authority Mortgage Scheme.  This was seconded by Councillor Cereste.

Councillor Murphy moved an amendment to the recommendation so that the eligibility policy would include an additional criterion as below:

“Applicants (HM forces with a local connection exempted) have registered and been accepted on the housing waiting list, reside in Peterborough and have been resident in Peterborough for the last 4 years.”

This was seconded by Councillor Khan.

The Solicitor to the Council advised that the amendment, if agreed, could be accepted with caveats that its impact be subject to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.