Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

None advised.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of Annual Council held on 18 May 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18^th May 2023 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

To receive communications from the Chair of the Council.

The Chairman announced the sad passing of former Northampton Borough and Northamptonshire County Councillor Alderman Mike Boss, who served on Northampton Borough Council from 1995 to 2011 and served as Mayor of Northampton in 2002-2003. He served as a member of Northamptonshire County Council from 1988 to 2005 and served as Chairman of the Council in 2003/2004 and was also Chair of the Development Control Committee from 2003-2005. The family of Alderman Boss invited those who knew him to attend his funeral.

The Chairman led Council in a minute’s applause in honour of Alderman Boss.

(1)  Receipt of Petitions (if any) from Local Government Electors for the District

(2)  Questions (if any) from the Public

(1)  There were no requests to submit petitions.

(2)  The Chairman advised of 3 requests to address Council.

Jean Lineker addressed Council in respect of item 12 and stated that she was happy to see integrated care coming together but voiced concern around GPs making incorrect diagnoses and subsequent incorrect treatments, and also around cancellations of cancer treatment She believed that consultants worked faster for private patients.

Mr Kerr addressed Council in respect of item 9. He stated that the Bill of Rights was not “ancient law” but was still current legislation and was being abused. He further stated that public trust was being eroded by poor decision-making by the Council.

Tiff Cotterill addressed Council in relation to item 7 (Report of the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education) and commented that her 4-year-old autistic son had an EHCP (Education Health Care Plan) which took 46 weeks to complete; the legal timeframe for completion of an EHCP is 20 weeks. There was still no funding attached to the EHCP. She stated that West Northants Council only delivered 10% of EHCPs within the legal timeframe. Ms Cotterill’s son was offered a place at Hunsbury Meadows SEN unit in February, but received a phone call several days prior and was told that he would be unable to start school in Sept because the building would not be completed, and he would have to wait until October, but still no fixed date was given. Ms Cotterill stated that the Council fined and prosecuted parents who did not get their children into school but unlawfully denied others their education. She further commented that families were given different versions by the Council as to why their children were unable to start school in September.

Gwyn Roberts addressed Council in relation to Motion 1 and advised that he was representing Northamptonshire Carers, a local charity which supported unpaid carers. He explained that there were approximately 32,000 unpaid carers in West Northamptonshire. He commented that all employers should support the 1 in 8 of the workforce which were juggling paid work with caring responsibilities; this would allow employers to have accurate absence data, as many unpaid carers were currently forced to take sick leave when providing care. Mr Roberts also supported the motion’s proposal for a summer roundtable and stated that Northamptonshire Carers would be keen to be involved.

The Chairman thanked the speakers for their contributions.

Proposed by: Cllr Bob Purser

Seconded by: Cllr Wendy Randall

The West Northamptonshire Council’s Corporate Plan 2021-2025 Priority 3 Improving Connectivity states: ‘We will improve the quality of our roads and the timeliness of pothole assessment and the associated repairs process.’ It will result in ‘improved road quality’ and ‘Our roads repair programme will be a beacon of efficiency’.

The condition of urban and rural roads in West Northamptonshire continues to deteriorate. Potholes are rife and carriageways are breaking up, with roads and cycle paths dangerous to cyclists. It is recognised that WNC inherited from the predecessor Northamptonshire County Council an inadequate budget and poorly managed Highways contract.

Nonetheless, after two years of the new authority, even with the additional ‘short-term fixes’ for 2023/24 of £1.8 and £1m funds identified by the Government and West Northants Council respectively, the level of investment is inadequate, so that the condition of roads, cycle paths and pavements continues to deteriorate.

Additionally, the new contract agreed in mid-2022 with assurances of improvement has not reached the minimum standard set by this Council.

Therefore, to achieve the objectives set in the Corporate Plan, this Council invites the Leader of the Council to instruct the Cabinet Member for Highways to:

1.     Specify where the additional £2.8million for 2023-24 is being spent 

2.     Bring forward to Cabinet a costed five-year investment plan for bringing the roads paths and cycle ways up to a good standard.

3.     Improve the performance of the contract with Kier to good by June 2024 and if this is not achieved bring a report to this Council setting out options for terminating the contract.

An amendment to the motion was proposed by Councillor Larratt and seconded by Councillor Bagot Webb. The Labour Group confirmed that they would accept the amendment.

Amended motion to read:

“The West Northamptonshire Council’s Corporate Plan 2021-2025 Priority 3 Improving Connectivity states: ‘We will improve the quality of our roads and the timeliness of pothole assessment and the associated repairs process.’ It will result in ‘improved road quality’ and ‘Our roads repair programme will be a beacon of efficiency’.

Urban and rural roads in West Northamptonshire are in a poor state, due to potholes and surface degradation, worsened by bad weather conditions.  This presents potential hazards to road users. It is recognised that WNC inherited from the predecessor Northamptonshire County Council an inadequate budget and poorly managed Highways contract.

After two years of the new authority, even with the additional ‘short-term fixes’ for 2023/24 of £1.8 and £1m funds identified by the Government and West Northants Council respectively, the level of investment is inadequate. However, an additional £400k is being invested in new technology to improve efficiency and quality.

Therefore, to achieve the objectives set in the Corporate Plan, this Council invites the Leader of the Council to instruct the Cabinet Member for Highways to:

1.     Publish a plan to specify where the additional £2.8M will be spent.

2.     Work with Kier, so that they reach the required performance level, specified within the contract, by the due date.  If this is not met, bring a report to Cabinet, with options as to the way forward.

3.     Note that the scrutiny oversight group continues to monitor contract performance against specification, and will regularly report to Place scrutiny, who in turn will report to Cabinet.”

Members commented on the amended and made the following comments:

·       The Council was not spending enough money to even maintain roads at the moment.

·       Responses were getting better but wait times for work to be done were not yet improving.

·       The Active Travel scheme did not include any plans to make meaningful improvements.

·       The Council needed to find ways to end the current contract early if contractors were not performing to the required standard.

·       Budgets should be separate – it did not make sense that social care and highways were funded from the same budget.

·       The recent Scrutiny site visit to Kier was very useful and it was hoped that the new equipment performed as expected.

Upon a vote, the motion as amended was carried.

Councillor Nunn presented the report which sought Members’ consideration of the West Northamptonshire Council Annual Report for 2022/23. The report provided a review of each directorate’s work, achievements and challenges during year two as a unitary authority and a summary of the Council’s performance against the Corporate Plan and other key strategies and policies. The report also set out the Council’s direction of travel for the year ahead by summarising key priorities for 2023/24.

Councillor A Brown seconded the report.

Council debated the report and made the following comments:

·       It would be useful if the figures contained the number of homelessness preventions that the Council did not succeed in.

·       The report noted “at least” 230 places at the Tiffield site, however the original Cabinet report and subsequent reports stated that there were 250. It was suggested that an inaccurate picture was being painted. The Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education confirmed that 250 places were available, however 230 were being advertised since some children required more space and it was important that this space be available if the situation arose.

·       It was suggested there was information missing from the report; information relating to social value, active travel should be included, as confirmed at Cabinet.

·       The figures should include how many people, and not just households, were on the Council’s housing waiting lists.

·       A question was asked around how essential services were faring with the increase in single-person accommodation in the town centre.

·       There did not seem to be any vision in place shaping.

·       Digital versions of the Annual report would be more sustainable, there was no need for glossy hard copies to be distributed at the meeting.

·       Measures within the report were devoid of context and there were no comparators, so it was not possible to see how WNC performed in relation to the rest of the country.

·       The report was not seen as representative of many rural areas within West Northants.

·       It was disappointing that there was no information relating to the Councillor Covid Funding; it would have been useful to hear about the benefits of this funding, particularly in deprived areas.

·       Social value was a component of the Council’s procurement process.

·       1 third of people on the Council’s housing waiting list were looking for 1-bedroom accommodation.

·       Quarterly performance monitoring reports were seen by Cabinet which included comparators to national figures.

RESOLVED:

Council:

1.     Noted the detailed content of the WNC Annual Report 2022/23 in Appendix A of the report and the progress directorates have made against plans, objectives, and commitments during the Council’s second year; and

2.     Noted the key priorities for 2023/24 and potential challenges ahead.

Councillor Nunn presented the report which sought Members’ consideration of the West Northamptonshire Council Annual Report for 2022/23. The report provided a review of each directorate’s work, achievements and challenges during year two as a unitary authority, and a summary of the Council’s performance against the Corporate Plan and other key strategies and policies. The report also set out the Council’s direction of travel for the year ahead by

summarising key priorities for 2023/24.

Councillor A Brown seconded the report.

Council debated the report and made the following comments:

·       It would be useful if the figures contained the number of homelessness preventions that the Council did not succeed in.

·       The report noted “at least” 230 places at the Tiffield site, however the original Cabinet report and subsequent reports stated that there were 250. It was suggested that an inaccurate picture was being painted. The Cabient Member for Children, Families and Education confirmed that 250 places were available, however 230 were being advertised since some children required more space and it was important that this space be available if the situation arose.

·       There was information missing from the report; information relating to social value, active travel should be included, as confirmed at Cabinet.

·       The figures should include how many people, and not just households, were on the Council’s housing waiting lists.

·       A question was asked around how essential services were faring with the increase in single-person accommodation in the town centre.

·       There did not seem to be any vision in place shaping.

·       Digital versions of the Annual report would be more sustainable, there was no need for glossy hard copies to be distributed at the meeting.

·       Measures within the report were devoid of context and there were no comparators, so it was not possible to see how WNC performed in relation to the rest of the country.

·       The report was not seen as representative of many rural areas within West Northants.

·       It was disappointing that there was no information relating to the Councillor Covid Funding; it would have been useful to hear about the benefits of this funding, particularly in deprived areas.

·       Social value was a component of the Council’s procurement process.

·       1 third of people on the Council’s housing waiting list were looking for 1-bedroom accommodation.

·       Quarterly performance monitoring reports were seen by Cabinet which included comparators to national figures.

RESOLVED:

Council:

1.     Noted the detailed content of the WNC Annual Report 2022/23 in Appendix A of the report and the progress directorates have made against plans, objectives, and commitments during the Council’s second year; and

2.     Noted the key priorities for 2023/24 and potential challenges ahead.

Councillor Patel presented the report which sought to enable Council to consider the recommendations made by the Democracy and Standards Committee in relation to proposed updates to the Constitution in relation to the structure and operation of the Council’s Planning Committees.

Councillor Grant seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       Members were pleased that the changes relating to remote participation had been made and urged those responsible that the technology be looked at to iron out existing problems.

·       Regarding the change to consultations, it was explained that there were some previous consultations that would have benefitted from Cabinet Member input first, and Cabinet having sight of proposals prior to consultation would increase transparency and accountability

·       There still seemed to be confusion around the start times of meetings; clear decisions were needed.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Noted and approved the updates to the Constitution as set out in Section 5 of the report; and

b)    Delegated to the Monitoring Officer the power to make these amendments and any consequential amendments that may be necessary.

Councillor Hallam presented the report which asked Council to review the changes to the political balance of the Council and approve changes to the membership of committees.

Councillor Nunn seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       Thanks were given to Councillor Bambridge for his work on the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee over the past 2 years.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Noted the change to the distribution of seats held by political groups on the Council and determined the allocation of seats on committees to the groups as listed in Section 5 of the report; and

b)    Appointed members to the committees listed in Section 5 of the report below to give effect to the wishes expressed by the political groups to which the seats had been allocated.

Councillor Hallam presented the report which sought approval for a proposed remuneration package in excess of £100,00 for nine Tier 3 Assistant Directors (WNC Local terms) and one Strategic Manager (on TUPE pay, terms and

conditions), as a result of agreement of the 2023/24 Local Pay Award. The report also sought approval for the appointment of an interim Director of Children’s Services (DCS) for a fixed term duration, with a proposed remuneration package in excess of £100,000.

Councillor Nunn seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       It was concerning that there was a lack of consistency within the Children’s Service, and that the appointment had been made before this report had come before Council.

·       The reason for the appointment was due to the need to have more oversight of the Children’s Trust.

·       It would be unreasonable to arrange an extraordinary meeting of the Council to confirm the appointment, days before a pre-existing meeting.

·       The Chief Executive confirmed that the post was interim and made to give the DCS (Director of Children’s Services) the statutory powers to be permanently involved. If a decision was made to make the post permanent, the proper processes would be followed.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Approved the proposed remuneration over £100,00 for the listed Assistant Directors/Strategic Manager

b)    Approved the proposed fixed term appointment of the DCS and remuneration over £100,000.

Councillor Golby presented the report which sought to update members on the process undertaken to prioritise metrics for the Integrated Care Northamptonshire (ICN) Outcomes Framework, and the resulting agreed metrics.

Councillor Cribbin seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       Ambition was good, but some members questioned how these ambitions would be put into practice, as well as how the Council would be measuring the outcomes.

·       There should be KPIs for the whole directorate; this had been asked for previously at Scrutiny meetings.

·       It would be beneficial to see the priorities that LAPs had chosen, and how they fit into outcome frameworks. It would also enable the Council to hold the LAPs to account.

·       It was pointed out that the Council could already measure the number of children with an EHCP without a school place, and the number of children with an EHCP and the length of time it took them to get a school place; this data could help the Council understand whether the outcomes for them “living their best lives” had been hindered by the Council not being able to offer them a place. It was requested that this be looked at with a view of making it a direct ambition.

·       Regarding access to the best available education and learning, there should be a measure that included school exclusions.

·       There were concerns regarding the home-school transport consultation and the outline proposals around changes to fees and structures.  Depending on what was agreed following the consultation results, this should be looked at as a measure also.

RESOLVED:

Council:

1.     Noted the priority metrics agreed by Integrated Care Northamptonshire as part of its initial Outcomes Framework.

2.     Noted the multi-agency process undertaken to prioritise metrics for the Outcomes Framework.

Motion 1

Proposed by:  Cllr Sally Beardsworth

Seconded by: Cllr Rosie Humphreys

Background

Last month, the Career’s Leave Bill, championed by Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain was passed and will shortly become law.  Millions of people care for loved ones, doing everything from day-today physical caring, washing, dressing and feeding for those who cannot care for themselves, to things like shopping for a household elderly relative. Yet far too many unpaid carers go without adequate support and struggle to balance caring responsibilities and work.

Earlier this month (5th June – 9th June) it was Carers Week.

Research has revealed that 19 million people in the UK have provided unpaid care but have not been identified as carers. Many simply see themselves as a parent, partner or friend.

This means millions of carers could have missed out on vital support.  This figure equates to approximately 73%.

Research also shows that providing unpaid care has had a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of 8 million people in the UK.  Too often caring comes at the cost of carers own health.  31% of those who have provided unpaid care have said that their own health and wellbeing had suffered as a result of their caring role. This is an issue that has been flagged through the engagement process of the Health & Wellbeing strategy in our own area of West Northamptonshire.

More must and needs to be done both at a national and local level.

Resolution

This council therefore resolves to convene a roundtable, during Parliament’s Summer recess, with our local MP’s, a cross-party members group, unpaid carers from across our council area and WNC council officers to understand the problem specifically within our own area and explore what further can be done to recognise and improve the situation for unpaid carers who ultimately save local authorities and the state millions of pounds.

Motion 2

Proposed by: Cllr Cheryl Hawes

Seconded by: Cllr Harry Barrett

This Council is shocked by recent incidents of knife crime in West Northamptonshire.

Partners in the CSP include; West Northants Council, Northants Police, Probation Service, Integrated Care Board and the Fire Service, as well as including Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation (NHS) Trust, Office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Youth Offending Service, Voluntary and Community and Faith Sector Organisations, Registered Housing Providers, Northamptonshire Children’s Trust and the University of Northampton 

Further notes, that the Government of this day announced that it would amend the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to ensure that serious violence is an explicit priority for Community Safety Partnerships, and by making sure they have a strategy in place to tackle serious violence. 

This Council will therefore: 

1.    Continue to acknowledge and promote the ongoing work of the Community Safety Partnership. 

2.    Bring forward initiatives to promote community engagement on community safety.

3.    Recognise the value of taking a public health approach, to continue to bring forward the production of a Serious Violence Strategy as required under The Serious Violence Duty by January  ...  view the full agenda text for item 132.

Motion 1

Councillor Beardsworth proposed and Councillor Humphreys seconded:

“Background

Last month, the Career’s Leave Bill, championed by Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain was passed and will shortly become law.  Millions of people care for loved ones, doing everything from day-today physical caring, washing, dressing and feeding for those who cannot care for themselves, to things like shopping for a household elderly relative. Yet far too many unpaid carers go without adequate support and struggle to balance caring responsibilities and work.

Earlier this month (5th June – 9th June) it was Carers Week.

Research has revealed that 19 million people in the UK have provided unpaid care but have not been identified as carers. Many simply see themselves as a parent, partner or friend.

This means millions of carers could have missed out on vital support.  This figure equates to approximately 73%.

Research also shows that providing unpaid care has had a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of 8 million people in the UK.  Too often caring comes at the cost of carers own health.  31% of those who have provided unpaid care have said that their own health and wellbeing had suffered as a result of their caring role. This is an issue that has been flagged through the engagement process of the Health & Wellbeing strategy in our own area of West Northamptonshire.

More must and needs to be done both at a national and local level.

Resolution

This council therefore resolves to convene a roundtable, during Parliament’s Summer recess, with our local MP’s, a cross-party members group, unpaid carers from across our council area and WNC council officers to understand the problem specifically within our own area and explore what further can be done to recognise and improve the situation for unpaid carers who ultimately save local authorities and the state millions of pounds.”

Council debated the motion and the following comments are made:

·       Work was ongoing through various groups to help support the West Northants carer strategy.

·       It was suggested that the motion be referred to the Adult Social Care and Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

·       Some members felt that referrals to Scrutiny were a way to avoid awkward conversations in a public forum.

·       Some members felt that the roundtable should take place, and any findings should go to Scrutiny.

·       Some members expressed disappointment that the administration did not propose an amendment to the motion so that it could be carried at the meeting.

·       There was concern that the motion would be “kicked into the long grass” if it was referred to the Adult Social Care and Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Golby proposed that the motion be taken to Adult Social Care and Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Nunn seconded the proposal.

Councillor E Roberts proposed an amendment to the proposal to refer the motion that would see the motion go to the very next meeting of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee if Councillor Golby’s proposal was agreed. In responding to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 132.

The Chair to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

None advised.