Agenda and minutes

Reverend Robert Pastell invited members to take a moment of reflection.

Councillor Lansley, Chard, Williams, Godwin, Regan, Stennett, Britter and Teakle had given their apologies.

The Chief Executive had given his apologies and Pat Pratley, Executive Director attended in his place.

No interests were declared.

8 February 2013

The minutes of the last meeting had been circulated with the agenda.

The Mayor asked that it be noted at the start of Agenda Item 12 (Treasury Management and Annual Investment Strategy2013/14) that Councillors C. Hay, Smith, Driver and Williams returned to the Chamber and the Mayor resumed the chair. 

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that the minutes, as amended, of the meeting held on the 8 February 2013 be agreed and signed as an accurate record.

The Mayor on behalf of Council, extended best wishes to Councillor Chard for a speedy recovery after his recent knee replacement. 

The Leader reported back to Council regarding the air balloon roundabout scheme which has been debated at the last meeting.  He explained that there had been some confusion as Normal Baker was not in fact the relevant Government Minister.  As such, the Leader had written to both the Highways Agency and Stephen Hammond, who was the relevant Government Minister, which was copied to Norman Baker, and suggested a cross party meeting with the Highways Agency.  He was pleased to report that since writing this letter, the County Council had withdrawn their support for the scheme and the Highways Agency had subsequently dropped the proposal.  He would pass on details of any response to his letter once this had been received. 

These must be received no later than 12 noon on the fourth working day before the date of the meeting

No public questions had been received.

The following responses were given to the 10 member questions received;

A report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee - to be introduced by the Chairman of the committee, Councillor Duncan Smith who will ask Councillor Anne Regan as Chair of the scrutiny task group to introduce their report

This item was considered after Agenda Item 12 (Council Tax Resolution 2013-14).

Councillor Smith, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, invited Councillor Stewart as Vice-Chair of the scrutiny task group to introduce the report. Councillor Stewart highlighted the importance of the council fulfilling its statutory duty to provide allotments. The waiting list currently stood at 700. The task group had undertaken a series of visits to allotment sites and held in depth discussions with officers and others involved. He wished to thank all those officers who had supported the group in its work.

It was suggested that rather than reconvening the task group in 12 months time to review the implementation of the recommendations, this could be undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

In response to a question raised regarding the allocation of £600 000 of capital receipts from the sale of land at Midwinter to fund provision of potential new allotments in Cheltenham, the Cabinet Member Finance, referred to the Council’s commitment to invest part of the receipt from the Midwinter sale in allotment provision. £600 000 was a recent estimate from property services to provide for the current level of demand. Further work was ongoing to assess demand in terms of duplication with parish council waiting lists. Reference had been made in the report to land at Priors Farm and work was ongoing to ascertain whether this was the right land in the right location. He highlighted that the allotment reserve would form part of the supplementary capital programme which would be brought to Cabinet and Council later in the year.

The Chair of Overview & Scrutiny reminded members that it was scrutiny’s intention to bring each piece of work before as many members as possible to raise awareness and enable members to contribute. He thanked the working group for its constructive report which would certainly add value. He welcomed the fact that the legal position had now been resolved. Where there is a Parish Council in a District Council area, then the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Allotment Authority for allotments within the boundaries of that parish lie with them. In addition the Chair of Scrutiny expressed the Task Group’s concern about the ability of officers to support allotment holders in the light of budgetary changes. A further key issue was the recommendation to work with others to identify plots of land which could be used for allotments and the council was urged to work in partnership with organisations to facilitate a scheme to distribute surplus produce to those in most need in the town.

The Cabinet Member Sustainability congratulated the task group on its extensive work and thanked all officers involved. He expressed caution with regard to recommendation 6 which requested additional support for allotments as resources were limited but Cabinet would take seriously the recommendation to work with the voluntary sector to take things forward.

In terms of the £600 000 to fund future provision he explained that this was a political commitment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

A report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee - to be introduced by the Chairman of the committee, Councillor Duncan Smith who will ask Councillor Barbara Driver as chair of the scrutiny task group to introduce their report

Councillor Smith, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee invited Councillor Driver as chair of the scrutiny task group to introduce the report. 

Councillor Driver explained that the issue of the sex trade in Cheltenham was first raised as an issue in June 2012 due to its high profile in the media. The scrutiny task group was set up to investigate the matter and as a result determined that Cheltenham did not have an excessive problem but nonetheless a problem existed. She wished to thank everyone involved for their input including the Police, Social Services and the BBC.

The Mayor referred to the updated recommendations as tabled and

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that

1.      The recommendations of the Scrutiny Task Group set out at 7.1 of the Scrutiny Task Group report (and below a-e) be endorsed and forwarded to Cabinet for approval :

a)     That the council should work with the Police, Public Protection Bureau and voluntary organisations to identify emergency facilities where vulnerable people can be housed safely for a short period. This will allow for victims to receive appropriate emotional support from trained professionals whilst also allowing the Police a sufficient period of time to interview them and build a case for prosecution.

b)      That all Councillors should attend awareness sessions on safeguarding issues, particularly to learn about the warning signs that children, young people and vulnerable adults often exhibit if they are being abused or exploited. As community representatives with local knowledge and local intelligence, Councillors are in a good position to contribute towards this agenda.

c)      That the council assist the Police and Public Protection Bureau in producing, promoting and distributing information to those who may be at risk of sexual exploitation or already be victims of it, to let them know where they can go for help and assistance. The task group recognises the challenges involved in making this information accessible to those who are fearful of authority or many not speak English as a first language. 

d)     That the council support the work of the Public Protection Bureau in raising awareness of prostitution and potential sexual exploitation. One issue focuses around making hoteliers more aware of the potential for their premises to be used for prostitution and exploitation purposes, and in response the task group recommends that the council use its links to the Cheltenham Hoteliers Associate to raise awareness of this issue, particularly in relevant periods such as the run up to ‘race week’. 

e)     That a greater focus should be placed on producing high quality quantitative data on the scale and nuance of sexual exploitation in Cheltenham, and Gloucestershire as a whole. The task group recognises that the Police are already taking steps to address this issue, however as an intelligence-led area of policing, the importance of understanding the true scale of the issues we face so that we can work together with as partners to coordinate appropriate levels of response, cannot be underestimated. 

2.      The Chief  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the Cabinet Member Housing and Safety

The Cabinet Member Housing and Safety introduced the draft policy for approval by Council.  The draft policy had been approved by Cabinet on the 17 April 2012 for the purposes of consultation and again on the 15 January 2013 following consultation feedback and subsequent amendments.  The policy would assist applicants and the council in the decision making process and aimed to promote a street scene which would enhance the town. 

The Cabinet Member Housing and Safety gave the following response to member questions;

• He had not considered the impact of balloons tied to A Board to those that were partially sighted or blind but would raise this issue with officers.
• Once licensed enforcement of the policy became much easier. 
• The Licensing and Community Protection Team would be dealing with enforcement of this policy, which consisted of six officers.

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that;

1.      The consultee comments submitted be noted and;

2.      The amended draft policy be adopted, to take effect on the 1st of April 2013.

Joint report of the Cabinet Member Finance and the Director of Resources

The Mayor advised members that he had agreed that this item would be considered before Agenda Item 9 (Report of the Allotment Scrutiny Task Group) as he considered this would offer the best use of officer time for those finance officers who were in attendance.

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report, explaining that this was a routine matter for the Council, to formally approve the total Council Tax for residents of Cheltenham, including Council Tax requirements of the precepting organisations Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucestershire Police and the Parish Councils. 

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that the Tax resolution at Appendix 2 be approved and the commentary in respect of the increase in Council Tax at Paragraph 6 of Appendix 2 be noted.

No notices of motions had been received.

No petitions were submitted, nor had nay been received since the last meeting.

There were no urgent items for discussion.

The Council is recommended to approve the following resolution:-

“That in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1,3 and 5, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

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)

Paragraph 5; Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings

It was RESOLVED that That in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 3 and 5, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

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)

Paragraph 5; Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings

To approve the exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 8 February 2013

Councillor Prince left the Chamber at 3.15pm.

The exempt minutes of the last meeting had been circulated with the agenda. 

Upon a vote it was, by those that had been present, unanimously

RESOLVED that the exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 8 February 2013 be agreed and signed as an accurate record.