Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dodd, Irving, Lewis, McGinnity, Robinson, Sathiy and Yvonne Sayers.

Members are requested at a meeting where a disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest arises, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests, todeclare any interests that relate to an item on the agenda.

Where a Member discloses a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, he/she must withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest, except where he/she is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of a dispensation.

Where a Member discloses a personal interest he/she must seek advice from the Monitoring Officer or staff member representing the Monitoring Officer to determine whether the Member should withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest or whether the Member can remain in the meeting or remain in the meeting and vote on the relevant decision.

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

Minutes of the meeting held on 22 April 2021.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 22 April 2021 be approved as a correct record.

Election of New Councillors

The Mayor congratulated all Councillors who were re-elected to office following the Local Government Elections held on 6 May 2021, and extended a warm welcome to the following 10 new Councillors elected to office:

Natasha Carlin, Jennifer Corcoran, Sinclair D’Albuquerque, James Hansen, Sonya Kelly, Christine Maher, Catie Page, Mike Prendergast Joe Riley and Andrew Wilson.

Councillors Not Re-Elected

The Mayor reported that she wished to place on record, the gratitude of the Council to the 3 former Councillors who were not re-elected to office, namely Bob McCann who served for 5 years and Tony Dawson and Pat Keith who both served for 9 years, and on behalf of the Council, thanked them for their dedicated service to the people of Sefton.

Both the Mayor and Councillor Evans paid tribute to the work of Pat Keith.

To receive and note the report of the Chief Executive and Returning Officer on the results of the Council Elections held on 6 May 2021.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive and Returning Officer on the results of the Council Elections held on 6 May 2021.

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

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Council is requested to note that Councillor Maher was appointed as the Leader of the Council by the Council on 16 May 2019 for a four year term or until such time as the term of office expires

The Mayor reported that on 16 May 2019 the Council had appointed Councillor Maher as the Leader of Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council for a four-year term of office and until the Adjourned Annual Council Meeting in May 2023 or until such time as his term of office expires.

Report of the Leader of the Council to be circulated prior to the meeting.

The Council considered the report of the Leader of the Council on the membership of the Cabinet.

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

RESOLVED: That

(1)              it be noted that Councillor Fairclough was appointed as the Deputy Leader of the Council in May 2019 for a four year term of office or until such time as his term of office expires;

(2)              it be noted that the Cabinet comprising of the Members indicated below will hold office until the Leaders term of office expires, unless removed by the leader or for any of the reasons set out in Paragraph 4 (a) to (c) of Chapter 5 in the Constitution;

Cabinet (10)

(3)              the Portfolios set out in Chapter 5 of the Constitution be amended and agreed with the Leader and be lodged with the Monitoring Officer as set out in Paragraph 9 of Chapter 5 in the Constitution; and

(4)              the Monitoring officer be authorised to make any consequential amendments to the Constitution arising from the matters set out above and all Members of the Council be notified of those changes in due course.  If necessary, any changes would be referred to the Audit and Governance Committee for consideration.

Report of the Executive Director for Corporate Resources and Customer Services to be circulated prior to the meeting.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer which provided details of the allocation of Committee Places in accordance with the Political Balance Rules and the proposed Membership of the Committees and Working Groups for 2021/22. The report also sought approval to the terms of reference for Committees and Sub-Committees set out in chapters 6 and 7 of the Council’s Constitution.

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

RESOLVED:           That:

(1)      the allocation of Committee Places be noted; and

(2)      the Members, Chairs and Vice Chairs for the Committees and Sub-Committees set out in the appendix to this report be appointed for a maximum period of twelve months until the Adjourned Annual Council Meeting to be held in May 2022, subject to any changes political groups may make to memberships of Committees at meetings of the Council.

(A)      OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEES

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (ADULT SOCIAL CARE AND HEALTH) (10)

(Plus 2 Associate Members)

(Lab 7 /LD&PA 1 /Con 1 /Ind 1)

Associate Members:

(Non-voting Co-opted Members)         Mr. Brian Clark and Mr. Roger Hutchings (Nominated by Healthwatch, Sefton)

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (CHILDREN’S SERVICES AND SAFEGUARDING) (10)

(Plus 4 Education Added Members and 3 Associate Members)

(Lab 8 / LD&PA 1 /Con 1 /Ind 0)

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (REGENERATION AND SKILLS) (10)

(Lab 8 / LD&PA 1 /Con 1 /Ind 0)

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (REGULATORY, COMPLIANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES) (10)

(Lab 7 / LD&PA 1/Con 1 /Ind 1)

Details of the proposed representation on the Merseyside Joint Authority bodies for 2021/22 will be circulated prior to the meeting.

The Council considered a schedule of the proposed representation on the Merseyside Joint Authority Bodies for 2019/20.

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

RESOLVED:

(1)           That the following Members be appointed to serve on the following Joint Authority Bodies in 2021/22:

(2)           That the Leader of the Council in consultation with the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer be granted delegated authority to make the necessary amendments to the below appointments should Sefton’s allocation change in relation to the following Joint Authority Bodies arising from the allocation determined by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for 2021/22:

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

Further to Minute No. 30 of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 17 March 2020 the Council considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services on proposals for amendments to the Constitution relating to Highways.

The report indicated that it was considered more expedient and efficient for the Head of Highways and Public Protection to have delegated authority to enter into agreements under s38 and s278 Highways Act 1980 and the making and amending Traffic Regulation Orders with regards to Disabled Parking Places outside an individual’s property

Also, to comply with the 2020 statutory guidance issued pursuant to the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, the report also sought to amend the Council’s Constitution to detail that the Council’s responsibilities under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to be the responsibility of the Cabinet Member - Communities and Housing.

 It was moved by Councillor Roche, seconded by Councillor Fairclough and

RESOLVED:           That:

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

Further to Minute No. 27 of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 17 March 2020 the Council considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services reviewing the current terms of reference for Audit and Governance Committee and recommending a revised terms of reference in order to comply with best practice as recommended by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

It was moved by Councillor Roche, seconded by Councillor John Sayers and

RESOLVED:

That the revised terms of reference for the Audit Committee, as set out in the report be approved.

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

Further to Minute No. 28 of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 17 March 2020 the Council considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services on proposals for a new Members’ Code of Conduct.

It was moved by Councillor Roche, seconded by Councillor Fairclough and

RESOLVED:

That the new Member Code of Conduct as set out in Appendix A to the report, be approved.

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

Further to Minute No. 35 of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 17 March 2020 the Council considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services proposing changes to the constitution in relation to the exercise of the Council’s planning powers.

It was moved by Councillor Roche, seconded by Councillor Fairclough and

RESOLVED: That

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

Further to Minute No. 29 of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 17 March 2020 the Council considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services on proposals for revisions to the Employee Code of Conduct.

It was moved by Councillor Roche, seconded by Councillor Fairclough and

RESOLVED:

That the revised Employee Code of Conduct be approved.

Report of the Executive Director Corporate Resources and Customer Services.

The Council considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services in relation to securing over £2 million grant funding.

The report detailed that Sefton Council had received a direct award of £1.9M capital and £0.225M revenue funding to retrofit 215 poorly insulated homes for low income Sefton residents. The report set out that the funding had come from The Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the government’s post covid 19 response.

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

RESOLVED:           That:

(1)           the supplementary capital estimate of £1.9M and supplementary revenue estimate of £0.225M be approved; and

(2)           the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services be granted delegated authority to appoint a contractor via a direct award from the Procure Plus framework and then enter into the contract once the procurement process is completed in order to undertake the required works.

To note that the Council meetings scheduled to be held during the Municipal Year 2021/22 are as follows:

·       15 July 2021

·       16 September 2021

·       18 November 2021

·       20 January 2022

·       3 March 2022 (Budget Meeting)

·       21 April 2022

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

RESOLVED:

That it be noted that the Council meetings scheduled to be held during the Municipal Year 2021/22 are as follows:

·       15 July 2021

·       16 September 2021

·       18 November 2021

·       20 January 2022

·       3 March 2022 (Budget Meeting)

·       21 April 2022