Announcements
To receive announcements and business brought forward by the Mayor, Leader, and Members of the Cabinet or the Chief Executive.
4.1 By the Mayor:
4.2 By the Chief Executive:
4.3 By the Group Leaders: Any apologies for absence
4.4 Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:
Councillor Williams Leader of the Council
Councillor Elliot Finance & Resources
Councillor Mrs Griffiths Housing
Councillor D Collins Corporate & Contracted Services
Councillor Harden Community & Regulatory Services
Councillor G Sutton Planning and Infrastructure
Councillor Marshall Environmental Services
Decision:
1. By the Mayor:
There were no announcements from the Mayor.
2. By the Chief Executive:
There were no announcements from the Chief Executive.
3. By the Group Leaders:
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Clark, Conway, Fethney, Mclean, Ransley, Taylor and Whitman and apologies for the late arrival of Councillor Imarni.
4. By the Leader and Members of the Cabinet:
(Full details are in the minutes under Announcements of the Leader and Cabinet).
Minutes:
4.1 By the
Mayor:
None.
4.2 By the Chief
Executive:
None.
4.3 By the Group
Leaders:
Cllr Williams confirmed that apologies
had been received from Councillors Clark, Conway, Mclean, Taylor and Whitman and apologies for the
late arrival of Councillor Imarni.
Cllr Tindall advised that apologies had been received from Councillor Ransley.
Cllr Fisher offered apologies for Councillor Fethney
4.4 Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:
Councillor Williams, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Community Leadership
Cllr Williams confirmed there was nothing to report on this item of the agenda but was happy to take questions.
Cllr Pringle mentioned that Cllr Williams at the last meeting commented that Dacorum Borough Council didn’t need to make any plans for the possibility of a chaotic no deal Brexit, because we are not Kent. Cllr Pringle said that Cabinet has arranged to discuss this on the 19th of March, just 10 days before we could crash out without any deal, and asked Cllr Williams if this was too little too late and can he explain the preparations that will be put in place to advise and support local businesses affected by this and also our EU27 residents who are tenants or Dacorum Borough Council employees and our neighbours.
Cllr Williams said that at the last meeting he advised it was very difficult for us to make arrangements for circumstance which we can’t possibly forsee, and unlike some of Kent areas and port areas where there may be particular difficulties, where you may be expected to make explicit arrangements. Subsequent to that the Government has announced funding for each district Council in the UK of £35k over two years, to support Brexit preparations and therefore it seemed appropriate for Cabinet to put this onto the next agenda to look at the issues that may be relevant to the Council in relation to Brexit.
Cllr Williams said that in regards to the workforce a study was undertaken and there were very few EU nationals working within the organisation, but clearly there is no statutory requirement for them to declare their nationality, so that information is based on those who were willing to respond.
Cllr Williams advised that given the status of the UK Governments standing for EU nationals, that he didn’t believe any EU national living in the UK has anything to fear from Brexit and will retain the right to reside here.
Cllr England asked if Council agreed that the £60k per year – 5 year contract since the market moved away from Market Square was done to facilitate improvements but has not come to fruition. Cllr England thinks it was unfortunate that the tender process produced only two bidders and one fell away leaving the incumbent free to name his price, resulting in a £40k pressure to the budget.
Cllr Williams queried what he was being asked to agree.
Cllr England said that he is asking for agreement that it was unfortunate.
Cllr Williams confirmed that any ... view the full minutes text for item 4