Agenda and minutes

Council - Tuesday, 18th October 2022 6.30 pm

Venue: The Guildhall, Saltergate, Lincoln, LN1 1DH

Contact: Cheryl Evans, Democratic Services and Elections Manager  (01522 873439)

Items
No. Item

17.

Moment of Silence

Minutes:

The Council observed a minute’s silence to mourn the passing of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II.

 

The Council also observed a minute’s silence in memory of former city councillor, mayor and sheriff, David Jackson. 

18.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

Councillor Pat Vaughan declared a Personal Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Councillor R Metcalfe, Portfolio Holder, Our People and Resources'.

 

Reason: His daughter worked within the benefits department at the City of Lincoln Council, and similarly his granddaughter worked in the finance department.  

19.

Confirmation of Minutes - 21 June 2022 pdf icon PDF 188 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

20.

Mayor's Announcements

Minutes:

The Mayor referred to her engagements since the last meeting of the Council, some of which had included:

 

·        The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games Queen’s Baton Relay, which had visited Lincoln.

·        Bishop Grosseteste University graduation.

·        Ceremonies to mark the passing of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II.

·        Local Proclamation ceremonies for King Charles III.

·        RAF Scampton Closure Parade.

·        The launched of a TikTok account for the Mayor of Lincoln.

·        The unveiling of the George Boole Statue at Lincoln Central Railway Station.

 

The Mayor also took the opportunity to promote two events to raise money for her chosen charities. 

21.

Receive Any Questions under Council Procedure Rule 11 from Members of the Public and Provide Answers thereon

Minutes:

No questions had been submitted by members of the public.

22.

Receive Any Questions under Council Procedure Rule 12 from Members and Provide Answers thereon

Minutes:

Councillor Clare Smalley to Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Our People and Resources

 

Question

 

Whilst cost of living remained a concern, with food and bills rising, and the council is under similar pressures, what assurances could be given to residents and tenants that essential services would not be cut?

 

Reply

 

All political groups across the council had been briefed by senior finance colleagues on the financial position of the Council.  A range of options were currently being explored by the Council to close the financial shortfall.  However, all options would include difficult decisions to be made and therefore it was not possible to provide any assurances.  Options would continue to be explored and shared with all councillors in due course. 

 

Councillor Martin Christopher to Councillor Donald Nannestad, Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing

 

Question

 

How many homes would be needed to provide adequate housing provision for every family currently on our waiting list?

 

Reply

 

It was noted that the Council did not operate a waiting list, it had a housing register, which was split into bands 1,2 and 3.

 

Bands 1 and 2 relate to demonstratable housing need:-

Requirement:-

1 Bed 282

2 Bed 192

3 bed 227

4+ Bed 30

 

Therefore to accommodate this need the council would require 731 properties split in house type as above.

 

Band 3 is defined as having very little or no housing need.

Requirement:-

1 Bed 530

2 Bed 233

3 Bed 69

4+ Bed 1

 

Therefore, if the council were to accommodate all band three customers as well, the council would need an additional 833 properties split in the house type as above.

 

In summary, to accommodate all those on the current register the Council would require:

 

812 one-bedroom homes

425 two-bedroom homes

296 three-bedroom homes

32 four (+) bedroom homes.

 

This would create a grand total of 1,565 additional homes.

 

However, it was clearly not as simple as this as you would normally provide approximately 15% of unmet housing need, because if you provide for everyone then when a property becomes vacant arguably you would have no new tenants to take up the void.

 

Supplementary

 

If there were 1,565 inadequately housed, why was it that this number did not appear on the housing register?

 

Reply

 

It was reiterated that there were 833 considered to be inadequately housed.  However, it could simple be that a large proportion of this number included tenants that simply just wished to move elsewhere.

 

Councillor Mark Storer to Councillor Neil Murray, Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth

 

Question

 

What assessment has been made on the additional costs of this year’s Christmas market given the predicted reduction in stallholders and contractual cost increases? 

 

Reply

 

The Christmas market budget was made up of a number of aspects:

 

·        expenditure primarily related to the many contracts required to deliver the market; and

·        income mainly derived from stall fees and park and ride usage.

 

The budget for the market was a difficult balancing act, , which was why  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

Receive Reports under Council Procedure Rule 2 (vi) from Members

23a

Councillor R Metcalfe, Portfolio Holder, Our People and Resources pdf icon PDF 652 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Our People and Resources, presented his report to Council, which had been set out on pages 17 – 38 of the agenda.

 

The report was noted.

23b

Councillor G Hewson, Chair of Performance Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 147 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Gary Hewson, Chair of Performance Scrutiny Committee, presented his report to Council, which had been set out on pages 39 – 42 of the agenda. Councillor Hewson thanked all members and officers involved in the Committee.

 

The report was noted. 

23c

Councillor J Loffhagen, Chair of Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee (2021/22) pdf icon PDF 180 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Jane Loffhagen, former Chair of Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee (2021/22), presented her report to Council, which had been set out on pages 43 – 52 of the agenda. Councillor Loffhagen thanked all members and officers involved in the scrutiny reviews, details of which were included within her report.

 

The report was noted. 

23d

Councillor C Watt, Member Safeguarding Champion pdf icon PDF 414 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Calum Watt, Member Safeguarding Champion, presented his report to Council, which had been set out on pages 53 – 56 of the agenda. The Council was provided with an opportunity to ask questions, where the following points were noted:

 

·        The Modern Slavery member development session, which had been cancelled owing to the death of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, would be rescheduled for a later date.

·        It would be fed back to officers that there was a desire for a streamlined way of signposting safeguarding information, which would be particularly helpful for councillors.

·        It was confirmed that future reports would include detail on funding and where monies were spent.

 

The report was noted. 

24.

To Consider the Following Recommendations of the Executive and Committees of the Council

24a

Review of Hackney Carriage Fares pdf icon PDF 433 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor Loraine Woolley and seconded by Councillor Ric Metcalfe that Option 2, as detailed in the report and Appendix D, be adopted by the Council for implementation, provided that the unit of measurement be converted from metres to miles and yards.

 

On being put to the meeting, the motion was declared carried.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Option 2, as detailed in the report and Appendix D, be adopted by the Council for implementation, provided that the unit of measurement be converted from metres to miles and yards.