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 the Council held on 29 June and 20 July 2023.

The minutes of the meetings held on 29 June and 20 July 2023 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

To receive communications from the Chairman of the Council.

The Chairman referenced paragraph 29.4 of the Constitution which related to the matter of standing when making statements at meetings of the Council and noted that in recent months, this rule had not been observed. He asked members to debate and take a vote on debate on a proposal to suspend standing orders in respect of this.

Upon a vote, the proposal to suspend standing orders to allow members to remain seated while speaking at Council and addressing the Chairman was carried.

(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.

David Garlick addressed Council in relation to motions 1 and 2 and commented that without action, the Council would be contributing to further avoidable ill health and deaths due to poor air quality. He asked that the Council consider implementing lower speed limits in residential areas, 60mph limits on arterial roads in and around Northampton, cease the licensing of diesel taxis, introduce electric buses and improve active travel.

Dave Pearson addressed Council in relation to motions 1 and 2 and commented that there were 6 areas within West Northamptonshire with “illegally high” levels of air pollution, but no action plans to address the issues. He stated that the political and economic systems that brought on the climate crisis were incapable of solving it and that it was time to put the voice of communities at the heart of decision making. Mr Pearson further stated that the Council should set up a citizen’s assembly to address its response to the climate crisis.

Jane Wood addressed Council in relation to motion 2 and commented that, when looking at how the Council operated overall, it seemed like “business as usual” 2 years after a climate emergency was declared by WNC. She stated that the Council had an opportunity to make West Northants cleaner, safer and more resilient to the effects of climate change by supporting the motion.

The Chairman thanked the speakers for their contributions.

Proposed by: Cllr Bob Purser

Seconded by: Cllr Wendy Randall

“West Northamptonshire Council has the duty as corporate parent to support the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT) in improving the lives of our children in care. We take this opportunity to reaffirm our confidence in and commitment to the senior management and the selfless work of its staff.

Not for the first time, this Council is faced with another overspend by the Trust, currently estimated at £14 million. The vast majority of this overspend (£11.29m) is due to the exploitation of the Trust by profiteering private placement and fostering providers and poor systems within WNC.

This council notes the 2022 report of the Competition and Marketing Authority (CMA) into the Children’s Care market, which found a “fundamental failure” in the way private placement providers and Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) are making higher profits and charging higher prices whilst vulnerable children are put in inadequate placements which fail to meet their needs. The report highlighted competition should be between private placement providers and not local authorities purchasing services.

The Department for Education charged us in 2020 to wholeheartedly support NCT. We believe this duty also includes protecting both the Trust and this Council from profit-centric providers who are taking advantage of the most vulnerable young people in our area. We cannot continue to empty our precious reserves shoring up what has been declared a ‘broken’ market.

Therefore, this Council calls upon the Cabinet and Leader of the Council to:

·       Offer financial advice support to NCT to ensure their budget is no longer overspent due to the private sector

·       Work alongside NCT to produce a report on the current cost of placements to the trust in comparison to a base-budget model

·       Assess and install robust financial processes within the Council to ensure both NCT and WNC are not further abused by private placement providers and IFAs 

·       Invites the trust to conduct a review into the renumeration of in-house foster carers. 

·       Request the Chief Executive to urgently provide a costed report to Cabinet on the feasibility of WNC developing a prevention and support service for families with young children

·       Instruct the Cabinet Members for Housing and Children to liaise with the CEO of NCT to develop options to support those leaving care with independent accommodation

·       Appeal our Members of Parliament to meet with the Secretaries of State for Education and Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the need to implement the recommendations of the CMA’s report.”

Councillor Purser proposed and Councillor Z Smith seconded:

“West Northamptonshire Council has the duty as corporate parent to support the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT) in improving the lives of our children in care. We take this opportunity to reaffirm our confidence in and commitment to the senior management and the selfless work of its staff.

Not for the first time, this Council is faced with another overspend by the Trust, currently estimated at £14 million. The vast majority of this overspend (£11.29m) is due to the exploitation of the Trust by profiteering private placement and fostering providers and poor systems within WNC.

This council notes the 2022 report of the Competition and Marketing Authority (CMA) into the Children’s Care market, which found a “fundamental failure” in the way private placement providers and Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) are making higher profits and charging higher prices whilst vulnerable children are put in inadequate placements which fail to meet their needs. The report highlighted competition should be between private placement providers and not local authorities purchasing services.

The Department for Education charged us in 2020 to wholeheartedly support NCT. We believe this duty also includes protecting both the Trust and this Council from profit-centric providers who are taking advantage of the most vulnerable young people in our area. We cannot continue to empty our precious reserves shoring up what has been declared a ‘broken’ market.

Therefore, this Council calls upon the Cabinet and Leader of the Council to:

·       Offer financial advice support to NCT to ensure their budget is no longer overspent due to the private sector

·       Work alongside NCT to produce a report on the current cost of placements to the trust in comparison to a base-budget model

·       Assess and install robust financial processes within the Council to ensure both NCT and WNC are not further abused by private placement providers and IFAs

·       Invites the trust to conduct a review into the renumeration of in-house foster carers.

·       Request the Chief Executive to urgently provide a costed report to Cabinet on the feasibility of WNC developing a prevention and support service for families with young children

·       Instruct the Cabinet Members for Housing and Children to liaise with the CEO of NCT to develop options to support those leaving care with independent accommodation

·       Appeal our Members of Parliament to meet with the Secretaries of State for Education and Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the need to implement the recommendations of the CMA’s report.”

Council debated the motion and the following comments were made:

·       Children’s Service cost pressure was a national issue; however Northamptonshire Children’s Trust had seen a reduction in cost per head.

·       The Council’s Finance teams and the Director of Children’s Services would soon be visiting the Children’s Trust to look over its finances, quality of figures, projections, forecasts and commissioning decisions.

·       Appropriate housing for looked after children was needed, and it was noted that 5 applications for children’s homes had recently been refused.

·       An article in the LGA magazine reported that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 142.

Cabinet Members each highlighted the salient points of their reports. Members made comments and asked questions and the following points were raised:

·       The Council’s Emissions Reduction Strategy would be forthcoming early in 2024.

·       A recent meeting of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel had sat for 5 hours where PC Stephen Mold had admitted to errors of judgement but had done good work otherwise; the administration would continue to work with him.

·       Diversity was an important aspect that was being taken on board when developing the bus strategy and the Local Transport Plan.

·       Regarding issues around road closures for the recent half-marathon event, it was confirmed that consultation took place with the organisers prior to the event; communication was sent out to the organisers, but no response was received.

·       The interim bus policy would be consulted on in the near future. This would be reviewed following consultation on the LTP.

·       Concessionary fares were currently under review; some changes were likely. There was some concern around government clawback of finances, however, if this did not happen, the Council may be in a position to provide additional assistance.

·       The Council was continuing to press on with the Active Travel Strategy; schemes were being funded and the Council was bidding for additional funding.

·       Tree/Flood officer appointments – Tree and Nature Recovery Officer posts were out for recruitment, and a Flood Officer post had recently finished going through the job evaluation process and would go out to recruitment in the near future.

·       The Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Wellbeing and Health Integration confirmed that he would look into issues relating to the delivery of Household Support Fund vouchers.

·       Assurance would be sought on behalf of members in relation to whether the Council had capacity to offer support to vulnerable people when they sought help.

·       There were twice the number of hospital admissions in central Northampton due to COPD complications compared to national figures; part of the Council’s work was understanding the underlying causes, which also fed into wider work around air quality.

·       The Council had followed an informal process with the Children’s Trust which allowed some visibility. Confidence was growing continually in the figures that the Trust was quoting.

·       The government gave Family Hub ‘Start for Life’ funding to 75 of the most deprived areas in the country; Northampton, in the context of the wider rural West Northamptonshire area, made it less of a priority. The Council had been assured that it would be included in the next tranche of funding.

·       An inspection of the Fostering Service took place at the same time as the Children’s Service inspection; the inspection of an independent fostering organisation was separate to those and was the first of that kind. Issues identified had now been addressed.

·       It was confirmed that the Northampton Market Square regeneration project was on track for completion in late summer of 2024.

RESOLVED:

Council noted the Cabinet Member reports and the decision records from 11 July and 19 September 2023.

Councillor McCord presented the report which asked Council to note the Annual Reports of the three Overview and Scrutiny Committees (Corporate, People and Place) for 2022/2023.

Councillor Bambridge seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       There were high levels of apologies at meetings and low levels of participation. It was suggested that if members were struggling to attend meetings or did not have an interest in them, they should discuss this with their group leaders.

·       In relation to waterways in Talavera where excess water from new nearby housing estates ran off, there was to be no regeneration contract until 2028 and no maintenance of the rivers and lakes was in place.

·       The Scrutiny Committees were commended on their work in relation to LAPs and the modernising of IT systems.

·       The Cabinet were able to take several recommendations forward from the Corporate OSC when setting the budget.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Noted the Annual Reports 2022/2023 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees – Corporate, People and Place.

Councillor Grant presented the report which asked Council to note the Annual Report of the Democracy and Standards Committee for 2022/2023.

Councillor Cribbin seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       It was requested that a summary of Code of Conduct issues be contained in the report rather than a link.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Noted the Annual Report 2022/2023 of the Democracy and Standards Committee.

Councillor Grant presented the report which sought Council’s agreement of the terms of reference for a community governance review of parish arrangements within West Northamptonshire.

Councillor Kilbride seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       A request was made to ensure that there was a solid communication plan in place for ward changes for all areas affected.

·       It was requested that the parish of Yardley Gobion be added to the Areas under Review on Appendix 1, paragraph 6.1, subject to officers confirming the inclusion of the area in line with communication received from the parish council.

·       There would be plenty of opportunity in the coming months for discussions with members to take place.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Agreed that the Terms of Reference for a community governance review of parishes in West Northamptonshire, as set out at Appendix 1 of the report, be adopted;

b)    Noted the recommendation of the Democracy and Standards Committee that, rather than establishing a task and finish group to provide democratic input into the review, officers consult relevant ward members when drawing up proposals for consultation and eventual adoption;

c)     Agreed that Yardley Gobion be included in the Areas of Review listed at paragraph 6.1 of Appendix 1, subject to officers confirming the inclusion of the area in line with communication received from the parish council.

Councillor Grant presented the report which sought Council’s consideration of the recommendations made by the Democracy and Standards Committee in relation to proposed updates to the Constitution and changes to committees.

Councillor Hinch seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       Officers may not be aware of community uses for assets and these assets must not be disposed of without member input.

·       A review of the Cabinet system should be imminent if the Council was to be ready for a less centralised system of governance following the 2025 local elections.

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 sought Council’s approval for a proposed remuneration package in excess of £100,000 for a number of key roles across the Council as temporary agency workers. The report also highlighted potentially senior IT specialists, which may also come into scope.

Councillor Nunn seconded the report.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       There was concern that appointments in the report had already been made and concern about the number of interim appointments hitting the £100,000 mark.

·       3 of the posts were being funded by the Public Health grant and so were not costing the Council any money.

RESOLVED:

1)    Council approved the proposed remuneration over £100,00 for the listed roles.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda as the decision required was covered by an existing delegation.

Motion 1

Proposed by: Cllr Paul Joyce

Seconded by: Cllr Danielle Stone

“Poor air quality is among the greatest health threats in West Northamptonshire. The British Heart Foundation attributed 1 in 20 deaths in Northampton to air pollution in 2017 and predicted air pollution would cause 1,700 deaths in Northamptonshire before 2030. 

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidelines on safe pollution levels. This included a maximum annual average of 5 µg/m3 for PM2.5, the most dangerous pollutant which causes heart and lung disease and cancers. Recent measurements from IQ Air shows levels in areas of Northampton are worryingly twice this amount.

West Northamptonshire Council have made several commitments to deliver clean air, including signing up to the UK100 Net Zero Pledge in 2022, committing to be ‘Clean and Green’ in the corporate plan, and inheriting Northampton Borough Council’s Northampton Low Emission Strategy (NLES) until 2025. Yet this council still has no overarching policy towards tackling air quality.

Recognized change in pollution levels has been achieved by reducing idling through introducing smart traffic lights and School Streets initiatives. A trial of school streets in London effectively reduced levels of lethal nitrogen dioxide outside schools by 23%, whilst the introduction of smart traffic lights at roadworks in Kent successfully reduced car idling and journey times by up to 41%. 

This council recognises:

·       Poor air quality is a major problem that is affecting the health of residents in West Northamptonshire and pollutant levels are dangerously above recognised safe level’s

This council resolves to request the Cabinet to:

·       Publish a cohesive clean air policy, pulling together the efforts of LAPs, parish councils and community groups, for their meeting in January 2024

·       Commit this council to meet WHO guidelines on safe air pollution levels by 2028

·       Outline its plans for the £292,378 given to WNC to improve air quality for their meeting in December 2023

·       Consider and explore a trial of the School Streets Initiative for West Northants, looking at available sites, appropriate locations and inviting members and local residents to suggest locations to plan and initiate a trial.

·       Conduct research into trialling smart traffic light systems for future roadworks in West Northants and any funding available to trial a sensor or AI-based traffic system”

Motion 2

Proposed by: Cllr Jonathan Harris

Seconded by: Cllr Rosie Humphreys

“In July 2021, West Northamptonshire Council passed a motion recognising the climate emergency. In December 2021, a resolution was passed to sign up to the UK100 net zero pledge, reaffirming the council’s commitment to deliver a net zero position on its carbon emissions by 2030 and 2045 for the wider West Northants area.  

Since that time the scale of the challenge has become greater, and the need for action more urgent. Climate change is driving extreme weather such as heatwaves that cost lives. Wildlife is under extreme pressure, and species loss is accelerating. 

The surface temperature of the world’s oceans has hit its highest ever level as climate breakdown from burning fossil fuels causes  ...  view the full agenda text for item 150.

Motion 1

Councillor Joyce proposed and Councillor Stone seconded:

“Poor air quality is among the greatest health threats in West Northamptonshire. The British Heart Foundation attributed 1 in 20 deaths in Northampton to air pollution in 2017 and predicted air pollution would cause 1,700 deaths in Northamptonshire before 2030.

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidelines on safe

pollution levels. This included a maximum annual average of 5 µg/m3 for PM2.5, the most dangerous pollutant which causes heart and lung disease and cancers. Recent measurements from IQ Air shows levels in areas of Northampton are worryingly twice this amount.

West Northamptonshire Council have made several commitments to deliver clean air, including signing up to the UK100 Net Zero Pledge in 2022, committing to be ‘Clean and Green’ in the corporate plan, and inheriting Northampton Borough Council’s Northampton Low Emission Strategy (NLES) until 2025. Yet this council still has no overarching policy towards tackling air quality.

Recognized change in pollution levels has been achieved by reducing idling through introducing smart traffic lights and School Streets initiatives. A trial of school streets in London effectively reduced levels of lethal nitrogen dioxide outside schools by 23%, whilst the introduction of smart traffic lights at roadworks in Kent successfully reduced car idling and journey times by up to 41%.

This council recognises:

·       Poor air quality is a major problem that is affecting the health of residents in West Northamptonshire and pollutant levels are dangerously above recognised safe levels.

This council resolves to request the Cabinet to:

·       Publish a cohesive clean air policy, pulling together the efforts of LAPs, parish councils and community groups, for their meeting in January 2024.

·       Commit this council to meet WHO guidelines on safe air pollution levels by 2028.

·       Outline its plans for the £292,378 given to WNC to improve air quality for their meeting in December 2023.

·       Consider and explore a trial of the School Streets Initiative for West Northants, looking at available sites, appropriate locations and inviting members and local residents to suggest locations to plan and initiate a trial.

·       Conduct research into trialling smart traffic light systems for future roadworks in West Northants and any funding available to trial a sensor or AI-based traffic system”

The Chairman notified Council that an amendment to the motion had been received and copies of it had been circulated to members.

Councillor D Smith proposed and Councillor A Brown seconded the amendment.

Amended motion to read:

“Poor air quality is a matter of concern in West Northamptonshire. The British Heart Foundation attributed 1 in 20 deaths in Northampton to air pollution in 2017 and predicted air pollution would cause 1,700 deaths in Northamptonshire before 2030.

West Northamptonshire Council have made several commitments to deliver clean air, including signing up to the UK100 Net Zero Pledge in 2022, committing to be ‘Clean and Green’ in the corporate plan, and inheriting Northampton Borough Council’s Northampton Low Emission Strategy (NLES) until 2025. Yet this council still has no overarching policy towards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 150.

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

None advised.