Agenda, decisions and minutes

To sign as a true record the minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 26 November 2014 (attached).

Of meeting held on 26 November 2014 – AGREED without division.

The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 26 November 2014 were before the Council for approval.

It was AGREED, without division, that the minutes be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 26 November 2014, be signed as a correct record.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The Leader of the Council and the Mayor will make some announcements.

To receive other announcements (if any).

Council stood for a minute’s silence in memory of former Councillor Geoff Lewis who had recently passed away. The Leader of the Council and seven other Members spoke in Councillor Lewis’ memory.       

The Mayor thanked students and staff of Havering College who had constructed the Havering float that took part in the New Year’s Day parade. The borough’s entry had been very successful and the float had come third in the overall competition. The Mayor also thanked Lycamobile and Time FM for sponsoring the float.

            The Leader of the Council thanked the several thousand residents who had responded to the recent consultation on the Council’s budget. Despite the difficult overall financial climate, several amendments had been proposed to the budget in light of responses to the consultation. These included increasing the planned opening hours of Upminster Library to 50 hours per week, staggering the saving in funding for the Queen’s Theatre over three years rather than two, exploring new models of working in the Youth Service and setting charges for parking in parks at 20p for three hours and 50p for five hours with no charge at weekends or bank holidays. These changes would be discussed at forthcoming meetings of Cabinet and of the Overview & Scrutiny Board.

            The Leader congratulated the Mayor on her role in arranging the float at the New Year’s Day Parade, at no cost to the Council. Thanks were also recorded to staff and students at Havering College for their roles in the construction of the float.

            Final enabling works for the new Romford leisure Centre would commence in February and building of the new facility was expected to begin in the summer.

            Informal discussions had taken place recently on joint working with other boroughs. The Leader emphasised that these did not cover shared services but instead focussed on how the boroughs could work together to take advantage of any devolution proposals that may be brought forward, particularly in terms of jobs, transport and the local economy. Further details would be supplied to Members as the proposals were developed.

NOTE: The deadline for amendments for all reports on the agenda is  midnight, Monday 26 January 2015

To consider a report of Cabinet on the Council Tax Support Scheme (attached, subject to approval by Cabinet). 

Report AGREED without division.

A report of the Cabinet invited Council to approve the proposed Council Tax Support Scheme 2015 which had been agreed by Cabinet on 21 January 2015.

The new Council Tax Support Scheme had been developed in view of a reduced funding settlement from Central Government and the consequent need for the Council to consider a range of spending reductions or realignment of budgets. Proposals regarding the level of Council Tax levied on homes left empty for more than two years were also included.

The recommendation of the Cabinet was APPROVED without division and it was RESOLVED that:

The proposed revised local Council Tax Support Scheme, as summarised in Appendix 1 to these minutes, be adopted with effect from April 2015.

To consider a report of the Governance Committee on Changes to Delegated Powers – Regulatory Services (attached).

Report AGREED without division.

A report of the Governance Committee asked Council to extend the delegated authority of the Head of Regulatory Services to dispense with the creation of the 7 day list and its weekly publication within Calendar Brief as this was no longer widely used by Members. The planning call-in process itself would be retained. Authority was also sought to allow the Head of Regulatory Services to serve all forms of planning related Enforcement Notices including Stop Notices. This would speed up enforcementtimeframes and create other process efficiencies.

The recommendations of the Governance Committee were APPROVED without division and it was RESOLVED that:

The following changes be incorporated into Section 3.6.6 of the Constitution relating to the Head of Regulatory Services.

1)         Section 3.6.6(e) be deleted and Section 3.6.6 (d) be altered to:

            "Members may request that an application be referred to the Regulatory Services Committee for determination.  Such request must be made in writing (including e-mail) to either the Head of Regulatory Services or the Planning Manager personally.  If no such request is received by the deadline of that period the Head of Regulatory Services may approve the application.

2)         Section 3.6.6(p) be altered to:

            "To issue Enforcement Notices, Stop Notices and Listed Building Enforcement Notices".

To consider a report of the Governance Committee on the Polling District Review (attached).

Report AGREED without division.

            A report of the Governance Committee asked Council to agree that, following a review which established that there were not any viable alternative venues, Upminster Methodist Church Hall, Hall Lane, Upminster should be retained as a venue for a double polling station in the CM5 polling district. This followed a report to Council on 26 November 2014 at which a list of polling stations for Havering had been agreed. 

The recommendation of the Governance Committee was APPROVED without division and it was RESOLVED that:

The polling station identified in the original report (Upminster Church Hall, Hall Lane) be retained.

To consider a report of the Governance Committee on Amendments to the Constitution – Financial Regulations, Finance Policy and Budget and Policy Framework (attached).

Report AGREED without division.

A report of the Governance Committee asked Council to approve some changes to Financial Regulations, Finance Policy and Budget and Policy Framework in light of the establishment of the shared service between Havering and Newham Councils. These changes aimed to rationalise and standardise these procedures between the two Councils as far as possible. A further report on delegations to the Joint Committee to oversee the operations of a shared service would be brought forward in due course.

The recommendation of the Governance Committee was APPROVED without division and it was RESOLVED that:

The revised Financial Regulations, Finance Policy and Budget and Policy Framework, as shown in Appendices 2 – 4 of these minutes, be adopted.

To consider a report of the Chief Executive on the Sex Establishment Licensing Policy (attached).

Report AGREED without division.

A report of the Chief Executive asked Council to confirm the decision by Cabinet on 12 February 2014 to approve the adoption of the Council’s Sex Establishment Policy and the adoption of Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

 This would allow the confirmation of a specific date for the policy to commence as well as better safeguard the Council’s legal position.

The recommendations of the Chief Executive were AGREED without division and it was RESOLVED that:

Council approves:

1)the adoption of the Sex Establishment Policy as shown in the agenda papers for the meeting.

2)the adoption of schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, as amended by section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 to commence on the 1^st March 2015. 

To consider a report of the Chief Executive on the Appointment of a Monitoring Officer (attached).

Report AGREED without division.

            A report of the Chief Executive asked Council to approve the appointment as Monitoring Officer of Graham White, Interim Director Legal & Governance (oneSource), with immediate effect. This would be on an interim basis pending a permanent arrangement being made.

The recommendation of the Chief Executive was APPROVED without division and it was RESOLVED that:

The following individual be authorised to exercise the responsibilities of the statutory officer indicated:

Monitoring Officer – Graham White, Interim Director Legal & Governance (oneSource), with immediate effect.

Attached.

14 questions replied to.

Fourteen questions were asked and replies given.

            The text of the questions, and their answers, are set out in Appendix 5 to these minutes.

Attached.

MOTIONS FOR DEBATE:

A.   SPITTING IN PUBLIC – Motion by the Conservative Group CARRIED without division.

B.   COMBINED AUTHORITY – Amendment by the Conservative Group CARRIED by 50 votes to 0 and CARRIED as substantive motion without division.

Motion on behalf of the Conservative Group

In light of the recent decision by London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee (TEC) to set the fixed penalty levels for anti-social spitting in public and the recent media coverage on the subject, this Council asks Cabinet to consider a report as to the implementation of enforcement measures in Havering.

Following debate, the Conservative Group motion was CARRIED without division.

RESOLVED:

In light of the recent decision by London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee (TEC) to set the fixed penalty levels for anti-social spitting in public and the recent media coverage on the subject, this Council asks Cabinet to consider a report as to the implementation of enforcement measures in Havering.

RESOLVED:

This Council rejects any proposals for an East/North East London Combined Authority.

The record of voting divisions is attached as Appendix 6.