Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2020 be confirmed.

The Mayor reported that it had been a quiet Mayoral year in view of the impact of the coronavirus, although November had been quite busy.

She had been honoured to have laid a wreath on Remembrance Sunday with the City Sheriff and had published a recording of the Flanders Fields poem on the City Council’s Facebook page. The Mayor had also attended a number of meetings and events remotely via Zoom which included learning about the Festival of Lights, World Hello Day and the hosting of a community garden awards ceremony. She was also pleased to see that the Christmas lights had been switched on and had recorded a message whilst on a walkabout which had been published on social media.

Councillor Edmund Strengiel declared a Personal Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Statement of Accounts 2019/20'.

Reason: He was Chair of Lincolnshire County Council’s Pensions Committee.

Councillor Pat Vaughan declared a Personal Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Statement of Accounts 2019/20'.

Reason: His granddaughter worked in the Council’s finance department.

No questions had been received.

Question by Councillor Alan Briggs to the Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing

Councillor Alan Briggs asked the Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing the following question:

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing outline what his team are doing to ensure our Council estate communities are maintained to the highest possible standard and what more he believes we can do to ensure we build upon place making standards?”

Councillor Donald Nannestad, Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing, reported that Covid-19 and associated regulations imposed had restricted what the Council had been able to do in communal areas in particular. Cleaning had continued but in some areas and some cases this had not always been possible. There had also been issues experienced in relation to staff needing to self-isolate, those placed on furlough and health and safety implications for staff. Councillor Nannestad reported that the Council had been especially careful in respect of its sheltered housing, ensuring the protection of its most vulnerable residents, which had been very successful and he also reported that grounds maintenance works had been continuing.

In terms of the longer term, the Draft Housing Strategy, which had consisted of a considerable amount of consultation including two briefings for all City Councillors, set out the Council’s future housing aspirations. Ward walks had also taken place with local members which had provided valuable insight, comments following which had been reflected in the Strategy document. Further consultation would be undertaken in due course and it had yet to go before the Housing Scrutiny-Sub Committee. The contents of the Strategy would be reflected in the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan, with further engagement scheduled to take place with tenants via a survey.

With regard to place making, Councillor Nannestad highlighted the new housing schemes being developed at Rookery Lane and Queen Elizabeth Road which provided significant opportunities to drive forward high standards of accommodation. He and officers had been to view other examples of high quality council housing provision at local authorities across the country, which he said would help the City Council with its future plans.

Councillor Nannestad closed by saying that he welcomed feedback from all members of the Council.

Councillor Alan Briggs, as a supplementary question, acknowledged the unprecedented nature of Covid-19 but highlighted on walks he had undertaken in his ward of Birchwood that some gardens had become overgrown and there was evidence of a lack of regular grounds maintenance. He had also seen instances of fly tipping, anti-social behaviour and graffiti and also reported that the standard of weed removal had been poor. Councillor Briggs therefore asked whether more frequent ward walks by officers could be undertaken to address some of these issues in order that the Council’s high standards were maintained.

Councillor Nannestad agreed to investigate this further but asked that all members ensure any such instances be reported to officers in order that necessary action could be taken.

Councillor by Councillor Thomas Dyer to the Leader of the Council

Councillor Thomas Dyer asked the following  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

Councillor Thomas Dyer, Leader of the Opposition, proposed the following motion:

‘That the Full-Council of the City of Lincoln Council calls upon both political groups, senior officers and itself, to fully review the Council’s scrutiny and decision making process.

That a member and officer working group be established to conduct the review, with an ambition to implement the new procedure by May 2022.

That the guiding principle of this review be to increase both the transparency and effectiveness of the Council’s decision-making process, ensuring that members are given the opportunity to scrutinise policies, whilst reviewing which decisions should be made by the Full Council and Executive and which are officer delegated decisions.’

Councillor Dyer, in proposing the motion, questioned whether the current process was the most democratic and effective way of making decisions. He cited recent examples of Executive decisions which, in his view, had undergone no pre-decision scrutiny with Call In being the only alternative option by which to scrutinise and hold the decision-taker to account.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Christopher Reid, Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council, welcomed the opportunity to review the ways in which things were done if there were reasonable and well-founded reasons for doing so. He was of the view, however, that the proposition as set out in the motion did not represent well-founded reasons to justify such a review or highlight the value of carrying one out and was actually based on assertions that were incorrect. Councillor Metcalfe reminded members that the jurisdiction of Full Council in the Constitution had not changed whatsoever as a result of the abolition of the committee system in 2000. It remained the same supreme decision-making body of the Council that it had always been in respect of the authority’s policy and budgetary framework.  He reminded members that scrutiny committees had the power to make direct referrals to Full Council on any matter they saw as necessary.

In terms of the Call In procedure providing limited opportunities for scrutiny, although Councillor Metcalfe could understand Councillor Dyer’s disappointment in respect of a recent Call In that had been considered by the Select Scrutiny Committee, he felt it was wrong to imply that the Committee’s hands were tied when considering Call Ins. He highlighted that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had recently, through statutory guidance, re-emphasised that scrutiny should offer constructive challenge as a critical friend, be undertaken independently, amplify the voice of the public and be aimed at driving improvements. It was therefore not an opportunity to enter into political point scoring, which he felt had occurred at the previous Select Scrutiny Committee meeting. Councillor Metcalfe was of the view that the Council’s scrutiny committees currently in place were doing an excellent job.

Councillor Edmund Strengiel said that if any member felt as though inadequate scrutiny was taking place they were quite right to bring the matter to the attention of Council. He did share a concern in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

Councillor Gary Hewson, Chair of the Performance Scrutiny Committee, presented a report to Council which set out the work carried out by the Committee since his last report in January 2020.

It was noted that the ten months covered in the report had been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since meetings resumed in July the focus of the Committee had largely been on core business, namely financial and operational performance as well as continuing to receive reports from Executive Portfolio Holders.

Councillor Hewson thanked officers for their continued support and all members of the Committee for their contributions.

The report was noted.

Councillor Rebecca Longbottom, Member Safeguarding Champion, presented a report to Council which set out the work undertaken over the last year in relation to safeguarding.

It was reported that protecting vulnerable people encompassed a range of legal duties and responsibilities to protect people’s health, wellbeing and human rights to support people in preventing problems from escalating and enabling people to live free from harm, abuse, fear or neglect.

Councillor Longbottom placed on record her thanks to Paula Burton, Safeguarding Officer, for all of her hard work and support.

Councillor Thomas Dyer referred to the PREVENT scheme which contained duties on specified authorities, which he understood the City of Lincoln Council qualified as. He asked whether there was anything to add in that respect as there was no specific reference to PREVENT within the report.

Councillor Longbottom responded by saying that the report referred to training the Council’s staff had undertaken which was in relation to safeguarding and radicalisation. She suspected this therefore covered the PREVENT scheme but agreed to look further into this matter and provide a direct response outside of the meeting.

Councillor Christopher Reid made reference to a sentence within the report which stated that it was difficult for officers to be assured that vulnerable people were able to access help and support in these unusual times. He was concerned by this statement and asked what the Council was doing to address this.

Councillor Longbottom provided Councillor Reid with reassurance that the Council’s safeguarding team took their responsibilities in relation to supporting vulnerable people very seriously.

Councillor Chris Burke commended an excellent report and the important work of officers. He was proud of the huge amount of work that had been undertaken to protect the city’s most vulnerable people during this time of crisis, particularly in relation to homelessness and rough sleeping.

Councillor Gary Hewson reported that the Performance Scrutiny Committee in considering the Council’s Strategic Risk Register had recommended that safeguarding be added as a strategic risk onto the register. This had now been actioned and the Committee would therefore receive further updates in relation to safeguarding at future meetings as part of scrutinising the Strategic Risk Register.

The report was noted.

This item will be considered at the meeting of the Executive on 23 November 2020 which takes place after the publication date for this agenda. The report scheduled for consideration at that meeting of the Executive is therefore attached.

Councillor Geoff Ellis proposed that the Statement of Accounts 2019/20 be approved. The proposition was seconded by Councillor Ric Metcalfe.

Councillor Christopher Burke highlighted the huge amount of work that had been done in terms of the Council’s Information Technology, as referred to in the report, which had made a huge difference to the way in which the Council had responded to the coronavirus pandemic. He placed on record his thanks to officers for the hard work they had undertaken in response to the pandemic but also for the development of a strategy which would see the largest investment in Information Technology ever made by the Council. He saw this as a massive step forward for the authority.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that the Statement of Accounts 2019/20 be approved.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that the Equality and Diversity Group Terms of Reference be approved.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that the membership changes be approved.