Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: via Video Conferencing
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APOLOGIES |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 116 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: Councillor Graham Timms declared a prejudicial interest in item 10, Notice of Motion, as he owns a holiday home. |
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URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR Notice of items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972. Minutes: Full Council offered condolences to Councillor Barry Mellor whose wife
Antoinette had recently passed away Condolences were sent to the family of former Councillor Robert Eric
Barton who had recently passed away. Condolences were also sent to the AM, Ann Jones, whose husband had
recently passed away. A one minutes silence was held. The Leader, Councillor Hugh Evans stated that recording of meetings has
been raised and the Monitoring Officer had advised Group Leaders. Councillor Paul Penlington questioned there had been occasions where one
particular Councillor who had recorded and shared screenshots on social media,
will it be addressed today? Councillor Hugh Evans
responded it will be addressed through protocol and will be
shared but would not refer to any particular Councillor during Full Council. |
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To receive the minutes of the meeting of County Council held on 13 October 2020 (copy attached). Minutes: The minutes of Full Council held on 13 October 2020 were submitted. PROPOSED by Councillor Alan James to accept the minutes, SECONDED by
Councillor Bob Murray. A vote took place and it was unanimously agreed to accept the minutes. RESOLVED that the minutes of the Council meeting held
on 13 October 2020 be confirmed as a correct record. |
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To consider a report by the Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services (copy attached) Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader, Councillor Hugh Evans, introduced the Final Growth Deal
report (previously circulated), for Council to reach Final Deal Agreement for
the North Wales Growth Deal with the UK Government and Welsh Government. In 2016, the North Wales Economic Ambition Board (NWEAB) adopted a
Growth Vision for the Economy of North Wales.
That vision was subsequently adopted by all 6 North Wales Councils. Based on the Growth Vision Strategy, a Growth
Deal bid was prepared and agreed by all the partners, including Denbighshire
County Council, working with both the UK and Welsh Government and the private
sector in October 2018. In November
2019, the NWEAB and the Welsh and UK Governments agreed the Heads of Terms, for
a Final Deal Agreement to be completed towards the end of 2020. The NWEAB were committed to achieving Final Deal Agreement with both
Governments before the end of December 2020. On 24 November 2020, Cabinet considered the documents, attached to the
report, and the recommendation of Partnerships Scrutiny Committee that Cabinet
and Council should endorse and approve the documents required to complete the
Final Growth Deal. Cabinet resolved to
endorse the documents necessary to complete the Final Growth Deal and approved
those parts of Governance Agreement 2 that related to executive functions. Cabinet recommended that Council formally
approve the documents as set out in the report. The Leader reiterated the aim of the Growth Deal to build a more sustainable and resilient economy in North Wales in partnership with public and private sectors, supported by £240m funding from the UK and Welsh Governments over the next 15 years. The Growth Deal aimed to deliver investment of up to £1.1bn in the North Wales economy to create 3,400 – 4,200 new jobs and generate £2 – £2.4bn in net additional GVA by 2036. The Leader delivered a joint presentation with the Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm; Head of Legal HR and Democratic Services and Head of Finance covering areas of the Growth Deal. It was confirmed that Gwynedd County Council were the host and
accountable body. During discussions, the following points were raised: ·
Councillor
Paul Penlington expressed concerns regarding the percentage of nuclear power
within the documentation. Officers
confirmed that nuclear power was not a significant part of the projects. Wind power, hydrogen etc., were also power
projects contained within the project.
Officers stated they did not have any concerns regarding nuclear energy. ·
There had been political commitment to the £240m
government funding and discussions with both governments had been ongoing on
matters of detail with no indication that the funding commitment would be
withdrawn. However, there was no legal commitment to providing those funds
until the Deal was signed. ·
Officers explained the funding calculations for
partner contributions confirming that region wide projects were equally funded
but for individual projects for which specific partners would receive greater
benefit (building/asset etc.) they would be expected to pay for the borrowing
requirement associated with that project. ·
Concerns
regarding rural areas not being highlighted within the Growth deal were raised
and the Leader and officers confirmed there were other funding stream available
for rural areas. Rural areas will be
invested in but not directly through the Growth Bid. ·
All
decisions made by the NWEAB would be published by each Local Authority. A Quarterly report would be produced and
would attend twice a year at Scrutiny Committee. Following discussions, the Leader proposed the recommendations,
seconded by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill and a vote took place. A majority of members voted in favour of the report, 2 members abstained and 4 members voted against the report. Therefore, it was ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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AT THIS JUNCTURE (11.40 A.M.) THERE WAS A 15
MINUTE BREAK THE MEETING RECOVENED AT 11.55 A.M |
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DENBIGHSHIRE'S HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY PDF 228 KB To consider a report by the Senior Officer, Strategic Planning and Housing (copy attached) Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for Housing and Communities, Councillor Tony Thomas,
introduced the Denbighshire’s Housing and Homelessness Report (previously
circulated), to seek Members’ approval to adopt the revised Denbighshire
Housing and Homelessness Strategy and endorse the accompanying Action Plan. Denbighshire’s current Housing Strategy was approved by Council on 1
December 2015 and set out the Council’s vision and aims for housing in the
County for a five year period. Importantly it assisted in achieving a
Corporate Plan priority by providing a framework and action plan for delivery
(through working with partners) of all Council housing related functions
(private & public). The Strategy
also sat alongside the Local Development Plan. The current Strategy identified 5 “Themes” to target priority areas for
action: ·
More
homes to meet local need and demand ·
Creating
a supply of affordable homes ·
Ensuring
safe and healthy homes ·
Homes
and support for vulnerable people, and ·
Promoting
and supporting communities. The existing Housing Strategy had a Steering Group made up of Lead
Members, Heads of Service, Managers and Officer with a clear action plan and
monitoring mechanisms. The Strategic
Housing and Homelessness Group had been set up to develop a more co-ordinated
approach. The Group agreed to amalgamate
the Housing Strategy and Homelessness Strategies into one revised and updated
Housing and Homelessness Strategy. The Group was jointly Chaired by the Lead Member for Housing and
Communities, Councillor Tony Thomas and the Lead Member for Well-being and
Independence, Councillor Bobby Feeley. An immediate priority was to develop a corporate approach to tackling
homelessness as the Covid-19 pandemic had caused far greater pressures on the
service. During discussions, the following points were raised: ·
Issues
utilising Westminster Hotel to provide homeless people with accommodation were
raised. It was confirmed that all people
who had been accommodated had a support worker and had received a health and
well-being assessment and have care plans.
Work was taking place with people to ensure people received support if
they had alcohol and drug use issues. ·
Anti-social
behaviour had been reported in areas where homeless people had been provided
accommodation. It was confirmed a
Strategy was to be presented to Rhyl Member Area Group for discussion. ·
Empty
homes had been a problem and work was continuing to contact owners of empty
homes to enable them to be brought back into the housing market with the
support of Denbighshire County Council. ·
Denbighshire
County Council were working regionally with Conwy County Borough Council on an
initiative – Housing First – which was a separately funded initiative. ·
It was
requested that the recommendation read “Council approves the Housing and
Homelessness Strategy with accompanying Action Plan as the framework for taking
forward housing and homelessness issues”.
All agreed homelessness should be added. At this juncture, Members offered thanks to the Homeless Team for all
the work they had carried out during the pandemic. Following discussions, Councillor Tony Thomas proposed the
recommendations, seconded by Councillor Bobby Feeley and a vote took place. Members unanimously voted in favour of the report. RESOLVED that Council approves the Housing and
Homelessness Strategy and accompanying Action Plan as the framework for taking
forward housing and homelessness issues. |
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PAY POLICY STATEMENT 2020/2021 PDF 125 KB To consider a report by the HR Manager and the Pay and Reward Specialist (copy attached) Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets,
Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, introduced the Pay Policy Statement Report
(previously circulated). The Lead Member for Finance, Performance and
Strategic Assets, Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, introduced the report (previously
circulated) to seek Council approval of the Pay Policy Statement which had been
drafted in accordance with the requirements of 38 (1) of the Localism
Act 2011 and incorporated all existing pay arrangements for the workforce
groups within the Council, including Chief Officers and the lowest paid
employees. It was confirmed that the report should have
been presented to Full Council in March 2020 but due to the Covid
pandemic it had been delayed. A report
would be presented to Council in March 2021 for the following financial year. The Real Living Wage was raised by members
and it was confirmed that a report regarding the Real Living Wage would be
presented to Full Council in either January or February 2021. Following discussions, Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill proposed the
recommendations, seconded by Councillor Tony Thomas and a vote took place. A majority of members voted in favour of the report, no-one abstained
and 2 members voted against the report. Therefore,
it was RESOLVED that Council agree
the recommendation from the Senior Leadership Remuneration Panel to the changes
to the Pay Policy for 2020/21 (copy in Appendix A) |
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE PDF 167 KB To consider a report by the Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services and the Chief Internal Auditor (copy attached) Minutes: Councillor Barry Mellor (Chair
of Corporate Governance Committee) introduced the Annual Report of the
Corporate Governance Committee (previously circulated) to inform all members of
the work of the Committee for the municipal year 2019/20. The Council was statutorily
required under the provisions of the Local Government Wales Measure 2011 to
have an Audit Committee. The Committee was the Council’s designated committee
for this purpose. The Council’s Constitution
provided that the membership of the Committee was made up of six elected Members on a politically balanced basis. There was
no requirement for the Committee to be politically balanced. There was a
statutory requirement to have at least one independent lay member of the
Committee and the current lay member was Mr Paul Whitham. Each meeting was attended by
the Council’s s151 Officer, Monitoring Officer and Head of Internal Audit or their representatives. In addition, each
meeting was attended by officers of the Wales Audit Office (WAO). During the period covered by
the report, the Committee had received a number of internal annual reports on matters relating
to governance. The Committee also undertook a
self-assessment of its own performance compared to current best practice. The
assessment was against a checklist from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and
Accountancy (CIPFA guidance “Audit Committees – Practical Guidance for
Local Authorities and Police 2018 Edition”. Councillor Barry Mellor took
the opportunity to thank the representatives of the WAO and all officers who
attend the Corporate Governance meetings. In particular, he recognised the
amount of work undertaken by the Internal Audit team. Thanks were extended to
each member of the Committee as the agendas were often lengthy but the
Committee members were always well prepared for the meeting. Lead Members were also thanked
for their attendance at Committees and for their support. Members expressed their
gratitude to the Chair and Committee members of Corporate Governance for all
their hard work. A vote took place and it was unanimously
agreed to note the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee Annual Report. RESOLVED that Members of Full Council noted the
content of the Annual Report of the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee. |
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Notice of Motion
put forward by Councillor Joan Butterfield on behalf of the Labour Group for
consideration by Full Council (copy attached) Minutes: Councillor Joan Butterfield
put forward the following Notice of Motion on behalf of the Labour Group for
consideration by Full Council. “That Denbighshire
County Council : Write to all
private sector delivers of Social Care in the county, that they should review
their sickness absence policy’s,so
that as a bare minimum they match the same sickness provision as Local
Authorities employees, including full pay for staff on sick leave with
coronavirus. This will help
contribute fully to fight this deadly virus.” During discussions, Councillor
Paul Penlington stated that the Notice of Motion had been dealt with by the
Welsh Government and proposed an amendment that DCC write to private providers
to make sure they are aware of the enhanced scheme. Councillor Paul Penlington
proposed an amendment to the Notice of Motion, seconded by Councillor Rhys
Thomas. A vote took place for the
amendment. A majority of members voted
in favour of the amendment, 9 members voted against and 1 member abstained from
the vote. Therefore, the amendment to
the Notice of Motion was moved. A vote then took place for the
substantive Motion as follows. A
majority of members voted in favour, 0 voted against, and 1 member abstained. Therefore, it was: RESOLVED the Denbighshire County Council write to
private providers to ensure they are aware of the enhanced scheme. |
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Notice of Motion
put forward by Councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor for
consideration by Full Council (copy attached) Minutes: Councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor put forward the following Notice of Motion for
consideration by Full Council. That Denbighshire County Council calls on the Welsh Government
to change the Planning Act in order that it is compulsory to have planning
permission to convert a dwellinghouse into a holiday
home/holiday unit, and adapts the policy framework to allow thresholds to be
set regarding the maximum numbers of holiday homes in any area. At this juncture, Councillor Graham Timms declared a prejudicial
interest as he owns a holiday home and left the meeting for this item. Councillor Mark Young proposed an amendment that the Notice of Motion
be presented at Scrutiny Committee for further discussion. The amendment was seconded by Councillor
Martyn Holland. A vote took place for the
amendment. Members unanimously voted in
favour of the amendment. Therefore, the
amendment to the Notice of Motion was moved. A vote then took place for the
substantive Motion as follows. Members
unanimously voted for the Notice of Motion to be presented at Scrutiny for
further discussion. Therefore, it was: RESOLVED that the Notice of Motion be presented at
Scrutiny for further discussion. |
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Notice of Motion put forward by Councillor Martyn Holland on behalf of the
Welsh Conservative Group for consideration by Full Council (copy attached) Minutes: Councillor Martyn Holland
withdrew the Notice of Motion. |
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COUNTY COUNCIL FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 247 KB To consider the Council’s forward work programme (copy attached). Minutes: The Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services introduced the Council’s forward work programme (previously circulated). 26 January 2021 – Real Living Wage to be added 23 February 2021 – Pay Policy Statement to be added RESOLVED subject to the above, that the Council’s
forward work programme be approved and noted. |
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THE MEETING CONCLUDED
AT 2.15 P.M. |