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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber Council Offices Market Street Newbury. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services Team 

Items
No. Item

34.

Chairman's Remarks

The Chairman to report on functions attended since the last meeting and other matters of interest to Members.

Minutes:

The Chairman reported that she, the Chairman’s consort and Vice-Chairman had attended 26 events between them since the last Council meeting. Councillor Carol Jackson-Doerge made specific mention of the Family Hubs second birthday celebration.

The Chairman noted the launch of the Community Champion Awards asking Members to promote the awards and to submit nominations.

Finally, the Chairman announced that Dr Kevin Hawkins OBE had sadly passed away that week. Dr Hawkins was Vice-Chairman of Pangbourne Parish Council. The Council sent thoughts and sympathy to his wife and thanks for his contribution as a Parish Councillor.

35.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 111 KB

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 3rd July 2018.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 03 July 2018 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.

36.

Declarations of Interest

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest received.

37.

Petitions

Councillors may present any petition which they have received. These will normally be referred to the appropriate body without discussion.

 

Minutes:

There were no petitions presented to the meeting.

 

 

38.

Public Questions

Members of the Executive to answer the following questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with the Council’s Constitution:

(a)         Question to be answered by the Leader of the Council submitted by Mr Gabriel Stirling:

“Why has Dominic Boeck not been removed from the Executive Committee given the verdict of the Council's Governance and Ethics Committee on his Twitter activity?”

(b)         Question to be answered by the Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Communications by Mr Simon Pike :

Following the comments on 5G made by Councillor Frederickson at an Executive Meeting in June, what further consideration has the Council made to participating in the Rural Connected Communities project that is planned by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)?

Minutes:

A full transcription of the public and Member question and answer sessions are available from the following link: Transcription of Q&As.

(a)          A question standing in the name of Mr Gabriel Stirling on the subject of why Councillor Boeck had not been removed from the Executive was answered by the Leader of the Council.

(b)          A question standing in the name of Mr Simon Pike on the subject of the Council’s participation in the Rural Connected Communities project was answered by the Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Communications.

(Councillor Jeremy Bartlett joined the meeting at 7.07pm.)

39.

Membership of Committees

The Monitoring Officer to advise of any changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting.

Minutes:

There had been no changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting.

40.

Licensing Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Licensing Committee has not met.

Minutes:

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Licensing Committee had not met.

 

41.

Personnel Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Personnel Committee has not met. 

Minutes:

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Personnel Committee had not met

42.

Governance and Ethics Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of Council, the Governance and Ethics Committee met on 30th July 2018 and 8th August 2018.  Copies of the Minutes of these meetings can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

Minutes:

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Governance and Ethics Committee had met on 30 July 2018 and the special meeting on the 08 August 2018.

 

43.

District Planning Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the District Planning Committee has not met.

Minutes:

In a correction to the information provided on the summons, the Council noted that since the last meeting, the District Planning Committee had met on 11 July 2018.

 

44.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission met on 10th July 2018.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

Minutes:

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee had met on 10 July 2018.

 

45.

Joint Public Protection Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Joint Public Protection Committee has not met. 

Minutes:

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Joint Public Protection Committee had not met.

46.

Family Hub Fees and Charges (C3633) pdf icon PDF 123 KB

To request approval for in-year changes to the fees and charges for the Family Hubs.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 14) which set out a request to change the fees and charges for Family Hubs part way through the year.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Lynne Doherty and seconded by Councillor Rick Jones:

That the Council:

1.            “approves the proposed in-year changes (to introduce new fees and charges for activities) to the fees and charges within Family Hubs across West Berkshire.

2.            Introduces the charges in two phases. The first from September 2018 until March 2019 providing a transition from voluntary contributions to fixed charges and a booking system. This would be followed by a review of the booking system, income generation and feedback moving to a full programme of charges from April 2019.”

Councillor Lynne Doherty noted that since 2016, voluntary contributions had been made towards activities at Family Hubs. By setting Fees and Charges, the Council would ensure that the amounts requested were made consistent across the District. It was proposed to trial the system and undertake a review in advance of the Council meeting in March 2019.

Councillor Mollie Lock expressed concern that the fees and charges were not made clear in the report and requested that the proposal be worked on further.

Councillor Lee Dillon stated that the Council was being asked to approve ranges, rather than specific fees and charges, which was not usual practice. He questioned the legality of the proposal.

Councillor Alan Macro asked how low income families would be supported to access activities at Family Hubs. He expressed the view that the consultation should have been repeated since 2016.

Councillor Doherty responded that the Family Hubs would continue to offer activities that were good value for money, for example a voluntary contribution of £6 would be requested for baby massage which was £20 on the open market. The range of £2 to £6 would offer flexibility to trial the system before incorporating set fees and charges into the Council’s budget. Any child with a Child Protection Plan or Child in Need status would be exempt from fees and referring agencies would be asked to provide information regarding any vulnerabilities. Targeted activities would remain free. Feedback was continuously sought from users of the Family Hubs and the Family Hubs Advisory Board, of which Councillor Lock was a member, had received that information.

At the request of the Chairman, Shiraz Sheikh confirmed that Legal Services were satisfied with the proposals.

Councillor Rick Jones express his support for the recommendations and stated that he recognised that Family Hubs were a valuable resource which support good health and wellbeing outcomes for children. The proposals would improve the sustainability of Family Hubs.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

47.

Notices of Motion

(a)          The following Motion has been submitted in the name of Councillor Alan Macro:

“1)       There were a large number of unauthorised encampments in the    district this year.

 

2)         Several of these were on land owned by the Council.

 

3)         There are many green areas in towns and villages that are    owned by the Council and that are vulnerable to unauthorised           encampments.

 

4)         The police are restricted by guidance from the Chief Police Officers Council in their use of their powers under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to direct persons to move off unauthorised sites.

 

The Council therefore resolves that an assessment of the susceptibility of each of its green areas in towns and villages to unauthorised encampments be urgently carried out. The assessment should assess each site on its vulnerability to incursions and the likely impact on nearby homes. The assessment to be used to prioritise a programme to improve the security of the sites against future incursions.”

 

(b)          The following Motion has been submitted in the name of Councillor Jeanette Clifford:

“This council agrees that the use of sky lanterns on all West Berkshire council-owned land and West Berkshire council-owned property should be banned. It calls on the Leader to write to West Berkshire MPs, other Berkshire Authorities, West Berkshire town and parish councils, the LGA, DEFRA and MHCLG confirming a ban in West Berkshire and calling for a ban throughout England and Wales. 

 

Also known as ‘Chinese’, ‘Wish’, ‘Floating’ and ‘Party’ Lanterns, Sky Lanterns are made from paper over wire or bamboo frames and have an open flame heat source.

 

Increasingly popular, it is estimated that 200,000 are released in the UK each year but - beautiful though they are - they are deadly to wildlife, present a real risk of fire to buildings and land, can be mistaken for emergency flares, and end up littering our lovely countryside.

 

The RSPCA has called for a ban, as have the Marine Conservation Society, the NFU and others.  West Berkshire should heed that call and members are urged to support this Motion.”

 

(c)          The following Motion has been submitted in the name of Councillor Jeff Brooks:

“Goodwill and respect is essential from all Councillors to achieve the good working needed to best represent the people of West Berkshire.

 

Accordingly, this Council resolves to remain respectful at all times to members of the public and Councillors of both political Parties, acknowledging their right to disagree and have different policies and objectives, without resorting to unpleasant and vituperative comments which simply sour relations and undermine political goodwill.”

Minutes:

(a)          Unauthorised Encampments

The Council considered the under-mentioned Motion (Agenda item 15a refers) submitted in the name of Councillor Alan Macro relating to the assessment of the susceptibility of the Council’s green areas in towns and villages to unauthorised encampments.

The Chairman informed the Council that the Motion would be referred to the Executive without debate.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Alan Macro and seconded by Councillor Lee Dillon:

That:

“1) There were a large number of unauthorised encampments in the district this year.

2) Several of these were on land owned by the Council.

3) There are many green areas in towns and villages that are owned by the Council and that are vulnerable to unauthorised encampments.

4) The police are restricted by guidance from the Chief Police Officers Council in their use of their powers under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to direct persons to move off unauthorised sites.

The Council therefore resolves that an assessment of the susceptibility of each of its green areas in towns and villages to unauthorised encampments be urgently carried out. The assessment should assess each site on its vulnerability to incursions and the likely impact on nearby homes. The assessment to be used to prioritise a programme to improve the security of the sites against future incursions.”

(b)          Sky Lanterns

The Council considered the under-mentioned Motion (Agenda item 15b refers) submitted in the name of Councillor Jeanette Clifford relating to the use of sky lanterns on land controlled and operated by the Council.

The Chairman informed the Council that the Motion would be debated at the meeting.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeanette Clifford and seconded by Councillor Tim Metcalfe which included the amendment tabled in writing at the meeting

That the Council:

“agrees that the use of sky lanterns on properties which are controlled and operated by West Berkshire Council should be banned.

It calls on the Leader to write to West Berkshire MPs, other Berkshire authorities, West Berkshire town and parish councils, the LGA, DEFRA and MHCLG confirming a ban in West Berkshire and calling for a ban throughout England and Wales.

Also known as ‘Chinese’, ‘Wish’, ‘Floating’ and ‘Party’ Lanterns, Sky Lanterns are made from paper over wire or bamboo frames and have an open flame heat source.

Increasingly popular, it is estimated that 200,000 are released in the UK each year but - beautiful though they are - they are deadly to wildlife, present a real risk of fire to buildings and land, can be mistaken for emergency flares, and end up littering our lovely countryside.

The RSPCA has called for a ban, as have the Marine Conservation Society, the NFU and others. West Berkshire should heed that call and members are urged to support this Motion.”

The Motion was put to the vote and declared CARRIED.

(c)          Councillors’ Behaviour

The Council considered the under-mentioned Motion (Agenda item 15c refers) submitted in the name of Councillor Jeff Brooks relating to Councillor’s behaviour.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

48.

Members' Questions

There were no Member questions submitted in relation to items not on the agenda.

Minutes:

No questions were submitted by Members.