Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Byrom, Hands, Hardy, Gannon, Jones, Marshall, Pitt and Spencer.

Members are requested to give notice of any disclosable pecuniary or personal interest.

An advice note on declarations of interests is attached.

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2019.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 21 November 2019 be approved as a correct record.

Mayor of Sefton Christmas Toy Appeal

The Mayor reported that she was pleased to report that once again, an unbelievable amount of toys and vouchers were donated as part of the annual Christmas Toy Appeal. This enabled the Council to help a great number of families in Sefton who struggled to provide a memorable Christmas for their children. As well as toys, the Sefton Children’s Trust also provided hampers of food to help over the festive period. The Mayor concluded that she would like to thank everyone who helped and supported the annual

Christmas Toy Appeal in December.

Mayor of Sefton Charity Events

The Mayor reported that she was really looking forward to the Burns Night that she was hosting this coming Saturday at the Town Hall, Bootle and would like to thank those Members who were joining her.

The Mayor also took the opportunity to remind Members that the tickets for her Gala Charity Ball were now on sale. The Charity Ball would take place on 28 March 2020 and promised to be an excellent night with a meal, refreshments and entertainment.  If Members were interested in purchasing tickets they should contact Shaun Pimblett, the Civic and Mayoral Officer.

A special memorial service will take place to remember victims of the Holocaust

The Mayor reminded Members that a special ceremony would be held for Holocaust Memorial Day. The Mayor indicated that she would attend the service, which was open to the public, on Sunday, January 26, at Christ Church, Lord Street, Southport commencing at 1.30pm. The service in Southport was open to everyone, with refreshments served at the end.

To deal with matters raised by members of the public resident within the Borough, of which notice has been given in accordance with the procedures relating to public questions, motions or petitions set out in Paragraph 36 to 47 of the Council and Committee Procedure Rules in Chapter 4 of the Council Constitution.

(Details of any further petitions notified or questions submitted by members of the public will be circulated at the meeting).

The Mayor reported that no matters had been raised by members of the public.

To receive and consider questions to Cabinet Members, Chairs of Committees or Spokespersons for any of the Joint Authorities upon any matter within their portfolio/area of responsibility, of which notice has been given by Members of the Council in accordance with Paragraph 49 to 51 of the Council and Committee Procedure Rules, set out in Chapter 4 of the Council Constitution.

The Council considered a schedule setting out the written questions submitted by:

together with the responses given. Supplementary questions to questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were responded to by the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Members for Locality Services and Regeneration and Skills.

Report of the Director of Public Health

Further to Minute No. 88 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 9 January 2020 the Council considered the report of the Director of Public Health in relation to the Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2020 – 2025 for Sefton, entitled “Living Well in Sefton 2020-2025”. The report set out how the Strategy had been developed, the governance steps taken and how the impact of the Strategy would be measured.

The report indicated that the Strategy and the ambition for the wider system had been developed through a full consultation process and with oversight of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy Steering Group; that the Strategy used the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and both local and national evidence to identify key ambition for the system that would improve the health and wellbeing of people in Sefton and would help to reduce health inequalities; and that it was a statutory obligation for the Health and Wellbeing Board to produce a Health Well Being Strategy based on the most recent Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

It was moved by Councillor Maher, seconded by Councillor Grace and 

RESOLVED:

That the Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2025 be approved.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

Further to Minute No. 78 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 5 December 2019 the Council considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer seeking approval of a programme of meetings for the 2020/21 Municipal Year. Approval of the programme of meetings would enable the business of the Council and its various Committees/bodies to be conducted during the 2020/21 Municipal Year.

It was moved by Councillor Maher, seconded by Councillor Grace and

RESOLVED: That:

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

Further to Minute No. 27 of the meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 18 December 2019 the Council considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer seeking approval of the submission of Overview and Scrutiny Working Group Final Reports and recommendations to Cabinet and then Council for final approval.  

It was moved by Councillor Sayers, seconded by Councillor Grace and

RESOLVED:

That Overview and Scrutiny Working Group Final Reports and recommendations be submitted to Cabinet and then Council for final approval and that the Constitution be amended accordingly.

Joint Report of the Chief Executive and the Chief Personnel Officer

The Council considered the joint report of the Chief Executive and the Chief Personnel Officer indicating that the Council’s Pay Policy provided that full Council had an opportunity to vote on the proposed remuneration for any posts which had an annual salary of over £100,000; that indicated that Cabinet on 5 December 2019 approved changes in senior management within the Council which provided for the formation of a revised Senior Management structure reporting to the Chief Executive and certain and specific new posts; and that as a result of those changes, approval was sought for remuneration over £100,000 for these new posts as detailed in the report.

The report indicated that as would be expected the demands and challenges faced by local government and Sefton MBC continued to increase and evolve, particularly in respect of Social Care, therefore it was essential that the senior management structure within the Council reflected this; that these proposals also coincided with the recruitment of the new Chief Executive; and that as such this Senior Management Structure would enable the delivery of the Core Purpose and Council objectives at both an operational and strategic level.

The report also indicated that the new posts proposed had been through the recognised Job Evaluation process and this had determined the grade applicable; that as a result, remuneration over £100,000 per annum was provided for three Executive Director posts within the Authority and this would ensure that the Authority recruited and retained an appropriate calibre of individuals in respect of these key posts.

It was moved by Councillor Maher, seconded by Councillor Grace:

That

On a show of hands the Mayor declared that the Motion was carried by 42 votes to 14 and it was

RESOLVED: That

Report of Head of Corporate Resources

Further to Minute No. 4 of the meeting of the Pay and Grading Committee held on 15 January 2020 the Council considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources that recommended a Pay Policy for the Council as required by the Localism Act 2011.

It was moved by Councillor Lappin, seconded by Councillor Grace and

RESOLVED: That

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

Further to Minute No. 93 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 9 January 2020 the Council considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources that provided details of the review of the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20 and which recommended that there was no change to the scheme for 2020/21 for working age claimants; that also sought changes to discretionary Council Tax Empty Homes discounts following the outcome of a public consultation, and an additional increase to the Council Tax long-term Empty Homes Premium following a consultation exercise that took place in 2018; that sought an increase in the Exceptional Hardship Fund (EHF) budget from £150,000 to £170,000 from 2020/21 onwards; and which provided an updated Council Tax Base for Sefton Council and each Parish area for 2020/21.

It was moved by Councillor Maher, seconded by Councillor Grace and

RESOLVED: That

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

The Council considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources that provided a review of the Treasury Management activities undertaken to 31 October 2019; and indicating that it was the second report of the ongoing quarterly monitoring provided to Audit and Governance Committee and the mid-year report to Cabinet and Council, whose role it was to carry out scrutiny of treasury management policies and practices.

It was moved by Councillor Maher, seconded by Councillor Grace and

RESOLVED:

That the Treasury Management update to 31 October 2019, to review the effects of decisions taken in pursuit of the Treasury Management Strategy and to consider the implications of changes resulting from regulatory, economic and market factors affecting the Council’s treasury management activities be noted.

Joint Report of the Executive Director and Head of Corporate Resources.

Further to Minute No. 94 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 9 January 2020 the Council considered the joint report of the Executive Director and the Head of Corporate Resources advising that the Council’s Capital Investment Programme had been developed to enable the Council to continue to deliver financial sustainability, to stimulate economic growth and strategic investment; and that key to the development of the investment programme was ensuring the best use of existing assets and the generation of council resources to finance upfront capital expenditure.

It was moved by Councillor Maher, seconded by Councillor Grace and

RESOLVED: That

No changes to membership of Committees were made.

It was moved by Councillor Brennan, seconded by Councillor Carragher and  unanimously

RESOLVED:

Byng House

This Council calls on the Royal British Legion to reconsider its decision to close Byng House in Southport and to retain its home maintenance service.  

This Council acknowledges the tremendous work that the Royal British Legion does on behalf of veterans past and present but expresses its concern that the closure will have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of members of the Sefton veteran’s community. 

It was moved by Councillor Sir Ron Watson, seconded by Councillor Brough:

Adult Social Care

Sefton Council recognises the commitment made by the new Conservative Government to give priority to dealing with the critically important issues of Adult Social Care.

Council believes that because of its experience in this area it should produce a definitive policy document for formal submission to the Government as part of what will be a National Consultation exercise. 

The Council recognises and welcomes the Government’s stated objective to approach this issue on an all-party basis and believes that Sefton should do the same.
 
The Council should therefore set up a working party whose composition should represent all the parties on the Council who reach the normal threshold of members to give detailed consideration to the issue and that their findings should be submitted to the full Council for approval and not just to the Cabinet. 

The working party should be focused and comprise of 4 Labour, 2 Lib Dems and 1 Conservative member. The names to be agreed by the Whips of the parties concerned.

Following debate, and on a show of hands, the Mayor declared that the Motion was lost by 40 votes to 13 with 4 abstentions and it was

RESOLVED:

That the Motion be not approved.

It was moved by Councillor Pugh, seconded by Councillor Dawson:

Burscough Curves

This Council:

An amendment was moved by Councillor Friel, seconded by Councillor Halsall that the Motion be amended by the addition of the following paragraph:

In accordance with Paragraph 72 in Chapter 4 of the Council’s Constitution, Councillor Friel offered the amendment as a ‘friendly amendment’ and Councillor Pugh accepted it as such.

The Amendment was unanimously agreed and became the Substantive Motion.

Following debate on the Substantive Motion, it was unanimously

RESOLVED:

Burscough Curves

This Council: