Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting of the council

Cllr Birnie commented on the change to the constitution and suggested that it should read 'appended' rather than 'amended'.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as a correct record.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 12^th July were approved as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest from members

To consider questions (if any) by members of the public of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Assistant Director (Corporate and Contracted Services)

There were no public participation

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

There were no announcements from the Mayor

The Chief Executive made no announcements.

Cllr Tindall noted apologies from Cllrs Bromham, Symington, Bristow, Deacon and Patterson.

Cllr Tindall welcomed the new Strategic Director.

Cllr Williams noted apologies from Cllrs Adeleke, Bhinder, Pound, Riddick and Durrant.

Cllr Pesch noted no apologies.

Members of the Council may ask the Cabinet member any question without notice upon an item on the report as published in this agenda;

5.1       Councillor Tindall         Leader of the Council (verbal update only)

5.2       Councillor Dhyani       Portfolio Holder Housing & Property Services

5.3       Councillor Bromham   Portfolio Holder Neighbourhood Operations

5.4       Councillor England      Portfolio Holder Climate & Ecological Emergency

5.5       Councillor Wilkie         Portfolio Holder Place

5.6       Councillor Weston       Portfolio Holder People & Transformation

5.7       Councillor Symington Portfolio Holder Corporate and Commercial Services

Cllr Tindall – Leader

Cllr Tindall raised no items to report.

Cllr Elliot asked when the King's official portrait would be received to be put in the Council Chamber. Cllr Tindall confirmed that he would ask officers to attend to this.

ACTION: To send enquiries regarding expected receipt of King's official portrait for Council Chamber. (Cllr Tindall & Officers)

Cllr Williams referred to the car parking report submitted to the scrutiny committee on 4th July 2023 and that was then deferred by Cabinet after it did not receive the expected support. Cllr Williams asked the Leader if he, the portfolio holder or Cabinet had seen the report and approved its contents before it was published for the meeting on 4th July 2023.

Cllr Tindall suggested that the schedule of charges was prepared by officers under the direction of the previous administration, noting that the document has now been corrected and is out for consultation.

Cllr Williams confirmed that the document was not in report form prior to the May elections and that the budget requirement in February for £100,000 of additional income would equate to a tariff of around £0.20 and no further changes to charges. Cllr Williams suggested that the Liberal Democrat proposals went further than this and asked if the report was signed off by Liberal Democrat members prior to its publication on 4th July 2023.

Cllr Tindall stated that he was unaware of it being signed off and that this is why it was withdrawn

Cllr Douris asked Cllr Tindall if he shares his concerns regarding the impact of the recommendation contained in the proposal to block a significant amount of parking. Cllr Douris noted the proposal to introduce a new minimum stay of 2 hours. A point of order was raised regarding the statement and the Chair requested that all questions be succinct.

Cllr Tindall advised that the minimum stay of 2 hours suggested that this refers to the price levied and does not mean that the person paying the charge must stay for the full 2 hours.

Cllr Guest referred to the last full council and the response to the question from the relevant portfolio holder regarding what would happen to the future of the verge hardening programme. Cllr Guest asked if a clear statement could be provided on this.

Cllr Tindall asked Cllr Guest to write to him and that he would then provide a response. Cllr Barry-Mears raised a point of order stating that the verge hardening is under a different portfolio and is contained within the report.

Cllr Dhyani – Housing & Property Services

The report was taken as read and questions were invited.

Cllr Birnie referred to a new procedure for reporting damage or repairs required involving surveyors and asked the portfolio holder for further information regarding these surveyors.

Cllr Dhyani advised that this is a 5-year programme and that all properties are being reviewed for required work. All necessary work is then logged and will be recorded in the work programme for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Question from Cllr Mitchell to Cllr Wilkie:

The 36 workers currently employed at the Wilko branch in Hemel Hempstead will be made redundant at the latest in early October; 32 of these workers live in the Borough and 11 of them are not entitled to any redundancy at all. For every one of these workers, losing their job will impact on their lives, the lives of their families, and their community.  Being put at risk of redundancy has a big emotional impact and is a major life change to come to terms with especially when an organisation such as Wilkos goes into administration. What will this administration and the Borough Council do to assist these workers in finding alternative employment?

Cllr Mitchell confirmed that the pre-submitted question had been responded to by officer KSolely and she thanked the administration for its thorough and comprehensive package of support for Wilko employees.

Cllr Mitchell read out the question as follows:

The 36 workers, now 35 workers, currently employed at the Wilko branch in Hemel Hempstead will be made redundant at the latest in early October; 32 of these workers live in the Borough and 11 of them are not entitled to any redundancy at all. For every one of these workers, losing their job will impact their lives, the lives of their families, and their community. Being put at risk of redundancy has a big emotional impact and is a major life change to come to terms with, especially when an organisation such as Wilko goes into administration. What will this administration and the Borough Council do to assist these workers in finding alternative employment?

Cllr Wilkie noted that an officer has already visited the store manager and that the store closed on 28th September 2023 with the store being cleared the following day. The manager advised that the head office suggested a site visit from Jobcentre Plus but that this hasn't been arranged and therefore support from the Council was welcomed. The store manager has suggested a job support session at the store to take place on 28th September 2023 and a written update on this will be provided to members. Officers are working with partners such as Jobcentre Plus, West Herts College and Community Action Dacorum to provide support on skills assessments, CV and job application writing and interview training as well as completing Universal Credit claims. The session in store will also include signposting to job vacancies, including those at the Council, and provide advice on where job adverts are posted. It was confirmed that the following officers would be in attendance at the in-store session:

- Economic Development Officer

- DBC HR and OD Manager

- Hemel Jobcentre Plus representative

- Jobcentre Plus representative

- Dells representative

- Step2Skills representative

- Sunnyside Rural Trust representative

- CAD representative

- West Herts College representative

Cllr Mitchell commented on the pressures on high street retail and suggested that a similar situation may arise. Cllr Mitchell asked if the Council would consider a similar support strategy policy to be rolled out should the situation occur elsewhere.

Cllr Wilkie noted that officers were aware of the process following the loss of Amazon, though workers could be placed elsewhere within Amazon. There is a system that can be introduced, though it is hoped that it won't be necessary.

Cllr Mitchell asked if the new administration would consider a new strategy for empty buildings and floor space in local precincts that are owned by the Council so they can be used for community projects.

Cllr Wilkie referred to the Hemel Place strategy and Hemel Gardens Community project that looks to reimagine the centre, including looking at the usage of space. Cllr Wilkie agreed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider any business referred from the previous meeting

The Chair confirmed that there were no outstanding actions and all responses from the previous meeting have been circulated and published as part of the agenda

To consider the following referrals from Cabinet:

CA/63/23 18^th JULY 23 ENFORCEMENT REPORT

CA/77/23 12^th SEPT 23  FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE QUARTER 1 2023-24

Cllr Tindall moved CA6323 Enforcement Report. The report was seconded and approved.

Cllr Tindall moved CA7723 Financial Performance Quarter 1 2023-24. The report was seconded and approved.

The Chair confirmed that the reports were thereby agreed and implemented.

No referrals

Cllr Tindall commented that it was felt that the Health Committee should be expanded to cover wellbeing. It was noted that the proposal is to change the committee's name to the Health and Wellbeing Committee and to expand the terms of reference to ensure the committee can explore any matters affecting Dacorum and its residents, including assessing the impact of services provided directly by the Council as well as external partners. It is a non-statutory committee and does not change the remit of the Council's statutory scrutiny committees. The report also proposes an additional responsibilities allowance for the chairperson to be commensurate with other chairpersons.

Cllr Tindall moved the report and it was seconded. The report was agreed.

The Chair noted that Jim McManus, Director of Public Health, will be moving on and he noted the Council's gratitude for his service through Covid and the work he has engaged with in Dacorum. Cllr Tindall confirmed that the good wishes of the Council would be passed on. Cllr Douris endorsed the comments made

To consider any proposals for changes to committee membership

None.

To consider any proposals for changes to committee dates

The Chair confirmed that an extraordinary council meeting will be held on 25th October 2023.

There being no further business, the meeting was formally closed.