Agenda and minutes

The Mayor reported with sadness that Andrew Taylor, former Chief Executive of the City of Lincoln Council for sixteen years, had recently passed away. Council observed a moment of silence in his memory.

The Mayor, followed by Councillors Ric Metcalfe, Eddie Strengiel, Ronald Hills and Chris Burke, each paid tribute to Andrew Taylor’s charisma, humour, determination and the significant difference he had made in his role as Chief Executive, as well as his love for the city of Lincoln.

The Mayor reported that she had undertaken a range of engagements since the previous meeting, highlighting in particular the launch of the centre for peace and reconciliation and the ground breaking ceremony for the University of Lincoln’s new Medical School which she would be attending on 25 September 2019.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 23 July 2019 be confirmed.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

No declarations of interest were received.

No questions were received.

No questions were received.

Councillor Lucinda Preston proposed the following motion:

That this Council notes:

• Most plastic does not decompose; a plastic bottle can last for 450 years in the marine environment. Plastic slowly fragments into smaller pieces but never truly go away – these are known as micro-plastics.

• Everyday approximately 8 million pieces of plastic are entering the oceans. Estimates suggest that by 2050 there could be more plastic in our ocean than fish.

• Approximately 5,000 items of marine plastic pollution have been found per mile of beach in the UK. Plastic bottles and packaging make up a third of plastic pollution entering the sea. Tyre dust, maritime waste, nurdles and synthetic microfibers make up another 47% of the problem.

• The plastics crisis requires action by national and local governments to reduce plastic pollution by increasing recycling rates and eliminate unnecessary single use plastic.

That this Council believes:

We need to move away from a linear plastic economy, where we take, make and dispose of plastic to a circular system where we capture the value of plastic materials - keeping plastic in the economy and out of the ocean.

That this Council therefore commits to:

(1)     Support Plastic-Free Lincoln as a campaign and promote plastic-free events and workshops. To liaise with community leaders to facilitate and promote the campaign locally. To encourage schools, businesses, community groups and individuals to get involved.

(2)     To become a full signatory of the ‘Plastic-Free Pledge’ by eliminating wherever possible all single-use plastics within the Council’s managed buildings and facilities by 2020 and seek to encourage the elimination of single use plastics within the supply chain by 2022.

(3)     Encourage contractors, suppliers, third parties and local businesses to reduce use of single-use plastics and consider this during the granting or renewing of contracts.  The council are aiming for single-use plastics, where a viable alternative is available, to be eliminated from the Christmas Market from 2020 onwards.

(4)     Work with the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership to minimise waste, encourage reuse and clearly communicate to residents what can be recycled.

(5)     Install a free drinking water fountain in the Lincoln Central Market and encourage retailers, public sector premises and venues in the City to provide water bottle refill facilities.

(6)     Elect a representative to join Plastic-Free Lincoln’s Steering Group. This group will meet 2-3 times per year to apply for plastic-free community status and continue to drive the campaign forward.

(7)     To create a plastic-free information section on the Council’s website providing local information on plastic free-shopping, water refill schemes and local businesses that support the Plastic Free Lincoln campaign.

Councillor Preston, in presenting the motion, said that this complimented the motion passed at the last meeting of Council where a climate emergency was declared and was a clear demonstration that the City Council was committed to taking action. An ambitious programme, accompanied by an action plan, had therefore been developed which aimed to help individuals, families and businesses to make changes, as well as the authority itself take  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council, proposed that the Statement of Accounts 2018/19 be approved. Councillor Geoff Ellis, Chair of the Audit Committee, seconded the proposal.

Councillor Ronald Hills made reference to page 9 of the Statement of Accounts document under the heading ‘operational expenditure’ and requested further clarity regarding the repairs and maintenance section. He suggested that there should be a separate heading for repairs and a separate heading for maintenance.

Councillor Metcalfe highlighted that this was in relation to the Housing Revenue Account and committed, via officers, to provide Councillor Hills with a response in due course.

It was RESOLVED that the Statement of Accounts 2018/19 be approved.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council, proposed that a dispensation be approved for Councillor Keith Weaver from attending meetings of the Council in order to avoid him potentially ceasing to be a member of the authority under Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972. Councillor Metcalfe conveyed the Council’s best wishes to Councillor Weaver who had been unable to attend meetings since his illness in April 2019.

Councillor Edmund Strengiel seconded the proposal.

It was RESOLVED that a dispensation for Councillor Keith Weaver from attending meetings of the Council in order to avoid him potentially ceasing to be a member of the authority under Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972 be approved.

It is proposed that Councillor Gary Hewson replaces Councillor Geoff Ellis on the Housing Appeals Panel and Councillors Lucinda Preston and Helena Mair be named as substitutes on the Panel.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that Councillor Gary Hewson replaces Councillor Geoff Ellis on the Housing Appeals Panel and Councillors Lucinda Preston and Helena Mair be named as substitutes on the Panel.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that the Statement of Licensing Policy be approved.