Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting of the council

The minutes of the meetings held on 22 February and 21 March 2017 were agreed by the Members present and then signed by the Mayor.

The minutes of the meetings held on 22 February and 21 March 2017 were agreed by the Members present and then signed by the Mayor.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider questions (if any) by members of the public of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Solicitor to the Council.

There was no public participation.

There was 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

4.4       Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

Councillor Williams                 Leader of the Council

Councillor Mrs Griffiths           Housing

Councillor Harden                   Residents & Corporate Services

Councillor G Sutton                Planning and Regeneration

Councillor Marshall                 Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services

Councillor Elliot                       Finance & Resources

1.      By the Mayor:

The Mayor asked that a minutes silence was held in remembrance of past Mayor and Honorary Alderman Les Taber.  Councillors Fisher and Williams both gave a speech with their memories of him.

2.      By the Chief Executive:

Sally Marshall announced the resignation of Councillor Adam Barnes, Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield Ward. She then confirmed as Returning Officer that there will be a Parliamentary General Election on 8 June 2017 following the announcement of the Prime Minister, Theresa May yesterday and the agreement of Parliament today. She advised that a by-election will also be held on 8 June 2017 for the Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield Ward.

3.      By the Group Leaders:

Councillor Williams gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Anderson, Banks, Bhinder, Chapman, Hicks and Whitman.

Councillor Tindall gave apologies on behalf of Councillor Ransley.

4.    By the Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

(Full details are in the minutes under Announcements of the Leader and Cabinet).

1.      By the Mayor:

The Mayor asked that a minutes silence was held in remembrance of past Mayor and Honorary Alderman Les Taber.  Councillors Fisher and Williams both gave a speech with their memories of him.

2.      By the Chief Executive:

Sally Marshall announced the resignation of Councillor Adam Barnes, Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield Ward. She then confirmed as Returning Officer that there will be a Parliamentary General Election on 8 June 2017 following the announcement of the Prime Minister, Theresa May yesterday and the agreement of Parliament today. She advised that a by-election will also be held on 8 June 2017 for the Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield Ward.

3.      By the Group Leaders:

Councillor Williams gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Anderson, Banks, Bhinder, Chapman, Hicks and Whitman.

Councillor Tindall gave apologies on behalf of Councillor Ransley.

4.    By the Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

Councillor Williams, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Community Leadership

The Leader had no announcements but he did advise all members that there was a paper slip on the desk asking if they would like to receive text message reminders for member development training sessions.

He was happy to take questions. 

Questions & Answers

Councillor England asked the Leader if he agreed it was unacceptable that the people of Dacorum were still without a 24 hour urgent care service, despite being promised in December that the 24 hour service would resume. Councillor Williams agreed it was unacceptable and that there was a need for the 24 hour service to be resumed. He said he understood it was due to problems with the hospital being under-staffed for the past year. 

There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.

Councillor Matthews arrived at 7.44 pm.

Councillor Griffiths, Portfolio Holder for Housing 

TENANT & LEASEHOLDER SERVICES

Andy Vincent – Group Manager for Tenants and Leaseholders has now left the Council. In the meantime Elliott Brooks Assistant Director for Housing will be covering the Tenant and Leaseholder Group.

The Tenant Involvement Service has received accreditation from the Tenant Participation Advisory Service. This recognises the excellent work that has been done by the Housing Service to involve tenants – we aim to continue to build on this positive relationship and continue to improve tenant satisfaction with the wider housing service.

Tunstall Healthcare limited will commence in April answering alarm calls from our sheltered tenants. Approximately 2,500 tenants and residents utilise this service. We are working to make this transition from Eldercare to Tunstall as smooth as possible – and to ensure that performance remains excellent. We will report back on the progress with this service

STRATEGIC HOUSING

Strategic Housing are working closely with the National Practitioner Support Service (NPSS) and the Homeless Forum to achieve commitments as set out in our 2016-2020 Homelessness Strategy.  One of the main areas is our commitment to reduce rough sleeping in the borough and increase the prevention of homelessness.  The service is working closely with other local statutory and voluntary agencies  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

To consider questions (if any) by members of the Council of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Solicitor to the Council.

None.

None.

To consider any business referred from the previous meeting

None.

None.

To consider the following referrals from Cabinet:

7.1  CA/032/17            21^st March 2017          Budget Monitoring

That the following be approved:

21 March 2017

7.1                   CA/032/17       BUDGET MONITORING QUARTER 3 2016/17

Decision

1.    Approval of the supplementary budgets set out below. Details for these supplementary budgets are set out in the body of the report to Cabinet:

·         Decrease the budget for Pension back funding by £900k

·         Decrease use of the Pensions reserve by £900k

2.      Increase the capital budget for The Forum by £514k to reflect contribution received from Hertfordshire County Council for fit out works to the library, ceremonial room and registration offices.

The referral from Cabinet on 21 March 2017 was submitted.  It was moved by Councillor Williams, duly seconded and

Resolved

That the following be approved:

21 March 2017

7.1                   CA/032/17       BUDGET MONITORING QUARTER 3 2016/17

Decision

1.    Approval of the supplementary budgets set out below. Details for these supplementary budgets are set out in the body of the report to Cabinet:

·         Decrease the budget for Pension back funding by £900k

·         Decrease use of the Pensions reserve by £900k

2.      Increase the capital budget for The Forum by £514k to reflect contribution received from Hertfordshire County Council for fit out works to the library, ceremonial room and registration offices.

The Constitution requires that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee Chairmen make an Annual Report to the Council on the work of their committees

The Chairman of the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Mahmood, introduced the annual reports and highlighted particular achievements for each committee, which were noted by Council.

The Chairman of the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Mahmood, introduced the annual reports and highlighted the particular achievements for each committee on behalf of the committee Chairmen:

Finance and Resources OSC: The committee were pleased that the Cabinet and officers have actioned the financial overview and scrutiny request that credit card transactions should be charged to the card user. This has now resulted in a saving to the council of approximately £90,000 per year. Secondly it has been agreed that the officers will respond within 14 days to outstanding issues brought forward at the meeting whenever possible.

Housing and Community OSC: The committee has had a busy year with the changes brought about by the Housing and Planning Bill which became an Act of Parliament during 2016. This then resulted in revisions and updates to a number or policies. As a consequence of this piece of legislation certain concerns were voiced locally by the TLC members on the ‘pay to stay’ housing rent calculation changes. However following a successful meeting with the two local MP’s requested by the Tenant and Leaseholder Committee (the so called TLC), also attended by some council members at the Civic Centre in the summer, the policy requirements for this aspect of legislation was changed from mandatory to being optional – much to the delight of the TLC members. The TLC terms of engagement were also reviewed by officers and a new TLC, with a fresh mandate and terms of reference, started up during autumn of 2016.

The homelessness strategy for the borough was thoroughly scrutinised during the course of the year at several meetings of the committee. The committee was pleased with the outcomes and acknowledged the thorough and professional manager in which the Group Manager for the Homelessness Strategy succinctly presented the reports and explained the background to the proposed changes.

Strategic Planning and Environment OSC: The Chairman is pleased in the way members are participating in regular reports and specific items, and are developing their analytical and questioning skills. In so far as specific policies were concerned, the Water Policy, on how do we cope with the dilemma of ensuring there is enough water for future development, against the requirements of the planning system was most interesting. The additional meeting in January was an excellent example of the value that members bring to our local communities in resolving to join the campaign against Luton Aircraft noise/night flights.

Health in Dacorum: The committee has looked at all health matters in Dacorum, covering the ongoing issues pertaining to the future hospital provisions for West Herts, to issues relating to local surgeries. A detailed report was included in the agenda.

None.

There were no overview and scrutiny committee referrals.

There were no overview and scrutiny committee referrals.

To consider any proposals for changes to committee membership

There were no changes to committee membership.

There were no changes to committee membership.

To consider any proposals for changes to committee dates

There were no changes in committee dates.

There were no changes in committee dates.