Agenda and minutes

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the face-to-face meeting and noted that those councillors attending via Teams would not be in attendance formally or able to vote.

The Council will hear any person who wishes to address it in accordance with the Standing Orders. The Chairperson will select the order of the matters to be heard.

Each person will be limited to a period of five minutes for public participation and deputations and three minutes for petitions.  This section of the meeting must not exceed 30 minutes and discussion must not refer to a current planning application.  

The Council will also receive questions from the public and provide answers thereto, subject to the Chairperson being satisfied that the questions are relevant to the business of the meeting.  

Requests must be submitted in writing to the Assistant Director Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer, or to the officer mentioned at the top of this agenda letter, by noon on the day before the meeting and the request must detail the subject matter of the address.

None.

A Member must declare any disclosable pecuniary interest where it relates to any matter being considered at the meeting. A declaration of a disclosable pecuniary interest should indicate the interest and the agenda item to which it relates. A Member is not permitted to participate in this agenda item by law and should immediately leave the meeting before the start of any debate.

If the Member leaves the meeting in respect of a declaration, he or she should ensure that the Chairperson is aware of this before he or she leaves to enable their exit from the meeting to be recorded in the minutes in accordance with Standing Order 37.

None declared.

8 November 2022, to approve as a correct record (attached)

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting of 8 November 2022 be approved as a correct record.

A minor typographical error was noted under COU56 paragraph 2 – “had been” to replace “has been”

Report of Councillor Cartman (attached)

Councillor Cartman presented the report.  He reminded members that the report before them was not the final budget for 2023/24 and that this report was an update following the recent publication of the Local Government Finance Settlement which had also updated the council’s financial assumptions.

Savings, cuts and efficiencies had reduced the budget gap from £17m to £2.536m with the details of the proposed savings in the current report and that which had been presented to the Executive in December 2022.  He noted that the council’s costs were rising by over 10% as was demand for services in Children’s Services and Adult Social Care and funding was not keeping up.

He highlighted to members that the report was based on a Council Tax rise of 2.99% but the government was permitting local authorities to raise this by up to 4.99% this year.  Taking the additional 2% rise would mean the council could set a balanced budget for next year or if not, additional savings would need to be identified.  Consultation and engagement with members would continue.

Councillor Cartman brought recommendation 2 to members’ attention in respect of the Safety Valve funding settlement discussions that were ongoing with the government in relation to the cumulative deficit on the Dedicated Schools Grant and the delegation to the council’s s151 officer to continue those discussions.

In debating the report members voiced concerns over the changes to the Home to School Transport policy and safeguarding issues with unaccompanied children on buses.  Concerns were noted over the level of increase in funding for Home to School Transport which would bring the funding up the level being spent in the current year with no increase for future cost pressures.  The level of bus service was deteriorating and leaving pupils standing on the pavement as buses did not turn up. 

Concern was raised over the funding of the current year overspend and that insufficient budget was being allocated the following year to those areas which historically overspent such as Children’s Services as the increase in budget for 2023-24 just brought spending up to that of 2022-23.  Similarly, a concern was raised over funding for Adult Social Care.

Members also asked that a strategic and aggregated consideration be given to the impact of the budget proposals on equality groups and that any consultation took account of those who were “digitally excluded”.

Councillor Cartman responded that transformation work was needed in the area of Home to School transport and conversations had already started to determine best practice.  He acknowledged the use of the financial risk reserve to support the funding gap in the current year budget due to the higher than expected pay award and rising energy costs.  He added that he shared members’ concerns over the level of funding for Children’s Services in not anticipating further growth.  He would pick up on the point made around aggregated impact assessments and consider the matter further to try and ensure no one group was excessively impacted and agreed that there  ...  view the full minutes text for item COU85

Report of Councillor Bell (attached)

Councillor Bell presented the report noting that it concerned a range of domiciliary care contracts in the social care area for Adults.  The recommissioning process was being started as a number were due to expire in September 2023.  Engagement with key stakeholders and partners had taken place to look at areas for improvement.  The pressure on social care services underlined how important domiciliary care was in enabling people to stay in their own homes and live independently.  This was for their own well- being but also to protect the NHS from pressures of individuals being admitted to hospital unnecessarily and the council’s own costs in terms of long term residential and nursing care.  The council was working with good care providers in North Somerset, but the transfers of providers were indicative of the cost pressures being felt in the social care area.

In debating the report, members noted concerns over the support for those caring for loved ones at home.  Support was needed for them over bank holidays also.  The low level of pay for domiciliary social care workers was highlighted. 

Councillor Bell responded that he acknowledged the comments resulted from a desire of members to drive improvements.  He added that End of Life care was a critically important area and had been underdeveloped and underfunded historically but the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System has made this area a priority and Weston Hospicecare was supporting across a number of partnership organisations to determine what the support should look like.  He added there were challenges across all areas of social care in all settings and that no amount of money would be enough.  He had been highlighting the practical issues to the Care Minister over a number of months and improvements in NHS pressures went hand in hand with improvement in social care.

Motion: proposed by Councillor Bell and seconded by Councillor Canniford and

Resolved: that the Council recommission the Support to Live at Home domiciliary care contracts for a seven-year term.

Report of Councillor Hogg (attached)

Councillor Hogg presented the report to members.  He advised that the report was seeking to increase the capital programme for the Winterstoke Road Bridge project by £5.1m to reflect the cost of the replacement scheme.  An additional £9.46m funding would be received from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as a result and £2.5m of revenue funding would also be received as a commuted sum to cover revenue costs in 2024.

Councillor Hogg gave the background to the construction and use of the bridge which remains the property of the MoD.  In recent years the bridge had fallen into poor condition and has required expensive repairs.  The land ownership and management of the bridge was complicated but the current condition of it meant that there were weight restrictions now in place and if it was not replaced, there would be a permanent closure with the decade.  It was a vital route in Weston-s-Mare and acted as an emergency diversionary route for the M5 when closed.  The MoD has accepted full liability for the bridge and wanted the council to adopt and maintain the bridge at public expense.  As part of the adoption, 120 years of maintenance expense would be made available to the council.  As costs had risen, the council has requested an additional sum of £9.46m to cover these increases.  The MoD has requested additional assurance via a Memorandum of Understanding which would provide a formal framework of protections to both the MoD and the council.

Members considered the report and noted the impact on local residents of the closure of the bridge particularly those living in Haywood Village.  They asked whether this project set a precedent for other bridges owned by parties other than North Somerset in the authority area as there were many and requested that the intended Memorandum of Understanding did not increase the council’s exposure.  They asked that the council carefully considers the traffic management around the site particularly to the south of the bridge and that bus pull ins were constructed to facilitate traffic movement in and out of the local housing estates.

Officers in the Major Projects Team were thanked for the close oversight of the project, and it was noted that the original Design and Build contractor had been challenged in the area of value for money.  A request for better HGV signage was made as was consideration to the weight of future electric refuse vehicles.

Councillor Hogg responded to say that he did not believe the scheme set a precedent for other bridges within North Somerset and that officers had assured him that the intended Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would not increase the council’s exposure in any way.  The MoU would mean the costs would be met in full by the MoD.  He added that where there were obvious synergies with the BSIP capital funding, he was keen that solutions to current issues were explored.

Motion: proposed by Councillor Hogg and seconded by Councillor Solomon and

Resolved that

1. the Council agreed  ...  view the full minutes text for item COU87

Report of Councillor Cartman (attached)

Councillor Cartman presented the report and explained that it was a follow on from the Council decision in May 2022 to transition out of Castlewood, remove it from the council’s office requirement and release it for development.  The report outlined options for redevelopment of the site that had been considered including use for residential, office, industrial, hotels and a mixed use.  He added that environmental and social aspects had been considered as well as financial.

He noted that there was a typographical error in recommendation 2 in that it should refer to paragraphs 3.69 – 3.71 and not as written in the report.

Councillor Cartman advised that he was aware of the importance of the development to residents, councillors and the town of Clevedon and the desire to make the site a landmark development.  In light of these concerns and to allow for better and more detailed member involvement and democratic oversight, he proposed an amendment to the recommendations to include the following:

Recommendation 7 “Establish a working group of up to 7 Members, supported by Officers, to inform the development of the Outline Planning Application and the Procurement Plan. The Executive Member for Corporate Services shall, in consultation with the group, and prior to the Outline planning application and procurement tendering, establish the key priorities for the redevelopment of the Castlewood site taking into account environmental, social, and financial considerations as well as the latest evidence and best practice.”

In debating the report, members voiced concerns around officer availability to both members and members of the public with difficulties in establishing contact with them together with some need for council representation in the north of the district.  Members referred to the need to not duplicate the work of the Policy and Scrutiny Panels and working groups which were already looking at the options.

Members also referred to concerns raised by the Clevedon Civic Society around the demolition of the building and future use of the site.  In addition, concerns were raised around the issues of vacant possession of the building and restrictive covenants on the use of the site. Members wished to see tight control over the project with the early engagement of the Major Projects Team.

In responding to the points made, Councillor Cartman confirmed that the redevelopment would be residential led but with commercial space which would give the council an option to retain office space in the north.  He added that as ward member Councillor Shopland had an open invitation to any working group and his membership of the group of 7 members to inform the Outline Planning Application would be considered alongside requests from any other member.

Motion: a motion to amend the recommendations was proposed by Councillor Shopland and seconded by Councillor Bryant that the decision be deferred for further consultation and a decision is left to the next Council with a recommendation made.

In debating the amendment to the motion, members noted that there was one Council meeting before the elections in May  ...  view the full minutes text for item COU88

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These have to be received by the Assistant Director Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer by 12.00 noon on the day of the meeting. 

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Questions must relate to issues relevant to the work of the Executive.  Question Time will normally last for 20 minutes. 

Members are requested to supply the Democratic Services Officer with a note of each question at, or just after, the meeting.  A summary note of each question will be included in an appendix to the minutes.

Oral questions were directed to members concerned and the summary notes and topics involved are contained in Appendix 1.

None.

None.

The Chairperson expressed hers and the Council’s condolences to Councillor Harley on her recent bereavement.

She noted the invitation extended to the authority’s foster families to watch the Weston Carnival from the Winter Gardens was warmly received and appreciated by the families.

The Leader expressed his and the Executive’s condolences to Councillor Harley on her recent bereavement.

The Chief Executive offered her condolences to Councillor Harley on her recent bereavement on behalf of herself and the council’s officers.

(to follow)

The Leader presented the Forward Plan.

 Resolved: that the Forward Plan be noted.

None.

None.

Report of Councillor Gibbons (attached)

Councillor Gibbons introduced the report informing members that it was in the form of an advent calendar highlighting the work carried out in Children’s Services over the past year.

Resolved: to note the Corporate Parenting Report

None.

None.

Audit Committee, 24 November 2022

AUD17 Audit Committee Annual Report 2021-22 (draft minute extract and report attached)

At the invitation of the Chairperson, Councillor Cato presented the report.

Councillor Cato informed members of the nature of the Audit Committee work and areas of remit noting that they covered a wide range.  He added that the committee saw itself as being an analytical friend to officers who were recognised as carrying out good work.  The committee membership amongst councillors had changed over the year and now also included two independent members.  The Chief Executive, Director of Corporate Services, Assistant Director of Legal and Governance, Head of Finance and the Head of Business Insight Policy and Partnerships were all thanked for their support to the committee in the areas of independent membership recruitment, risk management improvements, risk monitoring, control of longer-term treasury assets, improved governance of major projects and a review of the Council’s Constitution.

Members were invited and encouraged to attend Audit Committee meetings and review the risk register which could now be found online.  There was more work for the Audit Committee to do and the participation of all councillors in this journey for continuous improvement would be welcomed.

Resolved: that the Council received the Audit Committee Annual Report for 2021-22

(1) Code of Conduct Working Group

    Reference from group to Council on the updated LGA Code of Conduct for

    members (to follow)

The Assistant Director, Legal and Governance introduced the report from the Code of Conduct Working Group and explained the background to the new Local Government Association Model Code of Conduct.

Resolved: that Council

(i) adopted the new Local Government Association Model Code of Conduct 2020, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, with immediate effect.

(ii) would encourage the adoption of the new Code of Conduct by all Town and Parish Councils within the North Somerset District.

(iii) would encourage the use of the Local Government Association Guidance (Appendix 2 to the report) to the New Model Code of Conduct 2020 by all Town and Parish Councils within the North Somerset District.

(1)      Avon Fire Authority

          Report from Councillor Davies (attached)

(2)      Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel

          None

(3)      West of England Combined Authority Joint Scrutiny Committee

          None

(1)      Avon Fire Authority

          Written report from Councillor Davies

Resolved: that the report be noted

For a matter to be considered as an urgent item, the following question must be addressed:  “What harm to the public interest would flow from leaving it until the next meeting?” If harm can be demonstrated, then it is open to the Chairman to rule that it be considered as urgent. Otherwise the matter cannot be considered urgent within the statutory provisions.

None.