COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting of North Norfolk District Council held on 23 July 2014 at the Council
Offices, Holt Road, Cromer at 6.00 pm.
Members Present:
Mrs S A Arnold
Mrs L Brettle
Mr B Cabbell Manners
Mrs A ClaussenReynolds
Mrs H Cox
Mr N D Dixon
Mrs A M Fitch-Tillett
Mr T FitzPatrick
Ms V R Gay
Mrs A Green
Mrs P Grove-Jones
Officers in
Attendance:
Mr P W High
Mr T Ivory
Mr J Lee
Mr N Lloyd
Mrs B McGoun
Mrs A Moore
Mr P W Moore
Mr W J Northam
Mr J Perry-Warnes
Mr R Price
Mr R Reynolds
Mr E Seward
Mr R Shepherd
Mr N Smith
Mr R Smith
Mr R Stevens
Mrs A Sweeney
Mrs V Uprichard
Mrs L Walker
Mr S Ward
Mr G Williams
Mr P Williams
Mr R Wright
Mr D Young
The Chief Executive, The Corporate Directors, the Monitoring Officer, the
Head of Finance, the Head of Organisational Development and the
Democratic Services Officer
37.
PRAYERS
The Chairman invited member and lay preacher Mrs B McGoun to lead prayers.
38.
CHAIRMAN’S COMMUNICATIONS
The Chairman stated his privilege at being able to attend the Big Society Awards at North
Walsham, stating that he was very pleased so many members had attended. He commented
that it was a very special night and wished to convey his formal congratulations to all winners
and finalists. He also gave thanks to the staff who helped to organise the event, and to the
EDP editor for his attendance. He explained that the vice-Chairman had recently attended the
Lord Mayors procession on his behalf which she had found particularly enjoyable.
The Chairman then passed on a number of dates of interest for members. On the 29th July a
member briefing on the financial strategy and performance indicators was due to take place,
and email about which had been circulated to members. He also mentioned the North
Walsham Round Table Beer Festival which was due to take place on the 1st and 2nd of August
with all proceeds going to charity. Finally he explained that to raise money for his two
Chairman‟s charities, on the August Dress Down Day the Chairman, the Leader and the Chief
Executive would be partaking in a charity event which he encouraged all members and staff to
get involved in.
39.
TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FROM MEMBERS
Member(s)
Minute
Item
Interest
Review of Discretionary Pension
Policy Statements
Pecuniary Interest:
receives a LGPS
pension.
No.
Mr P Moore
Council
1
23 July 2014
40.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Mr M Baker, Mrs H Eales, Mr B Hannah, Mr G
Jones, Mr R Oliver, Miss B Palmer, Mr J Punchard, Mr J Savory, Mr B Smith and Mr P
Terrington.
41.
MINUTES
The minutes of the annual meeting of Council held on 24 June 2014 were approved as a
correct record.
42.
ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS
None
43.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
None
44.
APPOINTMENTS
It was proposed by Mr T FitzPatrick, seconded by Mr R Reynolds and
RESOLVED
To appoint Mrs H Cox as a substitute on the Big Society Fund Grants Panel
45.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CONSTITUTION WORKING PARTY 14 MAY 2014
MINUTE NO 6: REVIEW OF THE POLICY FRAMEWORK
Mrs H Cox, Chairman of the Constitution Working Party introduced this item. She informed
members that changes to the policy framework as detailed in the agenda were proposed to
keep the constitution viable and up to date.
RESOLVED
To include the listed plans and strategies within the Policy Framework and that the constitution
should be amended to reflect these changes
46.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CABINET 07 JULY 2014
a) AGENDA ITEM 10: SUPERFAST BROADBAND
The Leader introduced this item. He explained that the funding via Better Broadband for
Norfolk (BBfN) would provide faster broadband speeds across north Norfolk, whilst the
authorities‟ earmarked £1 million would provide faster speeds for the especially hard to reach
areas in the district. He further explained the recommendation was an „in principle‟ agreement
and funding would only be committed following BBfN‟s survey work and further details being
provided to members.
He explained that recommendation 3 had been completed following a presentation to the
Overview and Scrutiny committee, so therefore proposed recommendations 1 and 2.
Mr P Moore commented as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny committee. He explained
the committee had had a wide ranging debate, but one clear point had been that the funding
would all be spent in north Norfolk and asked for the leader to guarantee this.
Council
2
23 July 2014
Mrs A Moore commented that whilst she was in favour of better and faster broadband for north
Norfolk, it would have been better for funding to be sourced from the capital budget as
opposed to from revenue spending, as this would result in restricting the authority‟s cash flow.
Mr P Williams asked for a guarantee that should the scheme for north Norfolk not work out as
hoped that all funding would be returned to the authority.
The Leader provided assurances that as written in recommendation number 2, that no funding
would be committed until satisfactory analysis had been made of survey results, and no
funding would be spent outside of north Norfolk. He explained this had been made clear at the
meeting of Cabinet.
The Leader proposed and Mr W Northam seconded. The Leader then called for a recorded
vote which can be found at Minutes Appendix A and it was
RESOLVED
1. That £1million is earmarked (in a reserve) from the current year balance and future year
allocations return of the second homes council tax funding and unallocated New Homes
Bonus.
2. That no commitment to spend this earmarked fund is made until the BBfN Programme has
let the next call-off contract and this has been analysed by the District Council, the detail
shared with Members and a recommendation made to Council.
47.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 16 JULY 2014
The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny committee had no recommendations but spoke to
the meeting of Overview and Scrutiny on the 22 July. The meeting had been organised to
discuss housing in the district and local housing associations had been invited to attend. He
explained that he was very disappointed that Victory housing and Flagship housing had both
cancelled their attendance at the last minute and hoped that they would be able to attend
committee soon.
48.
REVIEW OF DISCRETIONARY PENSION POLICY STATEMENTS
The Leader introduced this item. He explained that the introduction of the new Local
Government Pension Scheme from 1 April 2014 required all scheme employers to review their
current discretionary policy statements and publish new statements. He further explained that
the attached pension policy statement summarised the key changes and made a
recommendation for the adoption of revised pension policy statements for the authority. He
also explained that UNISON had been consulted on the changes and confirmed that they had
no objection.
The Leader proposed, Mr W Northam seconded and it was
RESOLVED to approve
The revised Pension Policy Statement.
49.
TO RECEIVE THE APPROVED MINUTES OF THE UNDERMENTIONED COMMITTEES
The minutes of the meetings below were noted as a correct record.
a)
b)
c)
Council
Overview & Scrutiny Committee – 20 May 2014
Cabinet – 09 June 2014
Development Committee – 15 May 2014
3
23 July 2014
50.
REPORTS FROM THE CABINET OR MEMBERS OF THE CABINET
The Chairman invited members of the Cabinet to speak.
Mr W Northam discussed a presentation he had attended in the previous week regarding
dementia care in the district. He stated himself and the vice-Chairman, who had also been in
attendance, had found it very informative and suggested it may be useful for the presentation
to be provided to other district members. He commented he would pass the contact details on
to the relevant officers.
The Leader discussed changes to recycling and waste collection in the district, explaining that
they were on target and new arrangements were in place. He explained that the advertising
campaign would begin at Greenbuild in September ready for the roll out of the new system in
October.
Mr J Lee thanked members for their attendance at the Big Society Awards and brought to
members‟ attention a card he had received from the parents of Craig Prior, one of the
recipients of the “Outstanding Contribution by a Young Person to a Big Society Funded
Project” award, thanking the Big Society Fund for recognising their son‟s hard work. Mr J Lee
commented that it was humbling to receive the card and thanked officers for their exceptional
hard work in their arranging of the evening.
The Chairman reiterated Mr J Lee‟s remarks, commenting that following Craig Prior‟s passing
in February, the award was a fitting tribute for such a hardworking and engaged young man.
Mr W Northam then went on to discuss the Council Tax Support working party which had
convened on the 15 July to discuss changes to the scheme. He explained he would keep
members up to date with any changes to the scheme.
At this point, the Chairman invited Mr R Price to speak. Mr R Price wished to convey his
congratulations to Rev Canon David Court, former Vicar of Cromer, for his appointment as
Bishop of Grimsby. He explained that as Vicar, Reverend Court had done excellent work in
Cromer, encouraging attendance and involvement in the church. The Chairman agreed and
members of the council gave their congratulations for his new appointment as Bishop of
Grimsby and wished him well for the future.
51.
NOTICE(S) OF MOTION
None received.
The meeting concluded at 6.29 pm.
_________________________
Chairman
Council
4
23 July 2014
Minutes Appendix A
COUNCIL RECORDED VOTE FORM
Motion: Superfast Broadband (Agenda Item 10)
Date: 23 JULY 2014
For
Arnold, Mrs S A
Against
Abst
For
X
Abst
Oliver, R
Baker, M
Palmer, B
Brettle, L
X
Perry-Warnes, J H
X
Cabbell Manners, B
X
Price, R
X
ClaussenReynolds, A
Cox, H
X
Punchard, J
X
Reynolds, R
Dixon, N
X
Savory, J D
Eales, H
X
Seward, E
X
X
Fitch-Tillett, A
X
Shepherd, R
FitzPatrick, T
X
Smith, B
Gay, V R
X
Smith, N
X
Green, A R
X
Smith, R
X
Grove-Jones
X
Stevens, R
X
Sweeney, A C
X
Hannah, B J
High, P W
X
Terrington, P
Ivory, T
X
Uprichard, V
X
Jarvis, B
Walker, L
X
Jones, G R
Ward, S
X
Lee, J H A
X
Williams, G
X
Lloyd, N
X
Williams, P
X
McGoun, B M
X
Wright, R
X
Moore, A
X
Wyatt, J A
X
Moore, P W
X
Yiasimi, A
Northam, W J
X
Young, D
Council
Against
1
X
23 July 2014