Agenda and decisions

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Liz Harrington, Roni Hearn, Richard Henry, Jackie Hollywell, Matthew Hurst, Margaret Notley, Ralph Raynor and Ann Webb.

The Deputy Mayor welcomed Jen Jeffries, the newly elected Mayor of the Stevenage Youth Council to her first meeting.

Councillor Adam Mitchell declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 2 – Notice of Motion as the Hertfordshire County Council Deputy Executive Member, Education, Libraries and Localism and also as a parent of two children attending Barclay School.

Councillor Sharon Taylor declared non-pecuniary interest in item 3 - HRA Final Budget Proposals 2019/20 and Rent Setting as her daughter was employed within the Council’s Housing Section.

At this juncture, the Deputy Mayor reported on the recent death of former Councillor and Deputy Mayor Bruce Jackson. A number of Councillors spoke in tribute and a minutes silence was held.

The Deputy Mayor invited Councillor Taylor to come forward to receive a certificate in recognition of the work of Stevenage Borough Council against Modern Slavery.

To consider the following motion submitted by Councillor Jim Brown:

Stevenage Borough Council notes that 2019 will mark the 70th Anniversary of the local Barclay School and thanks all current and past staff for the opportunities they have provided for thousands of local children.  Therefore we regret that by June, when the anniversary would have been celebrated, the school may not exist in its currently recognisable form, given the forced academisation process the school is being put through.

Barclay School is an important community asset for Stevenage.  After many years of academisation, no evidence exists to suggest that the educational outcomes of multi-academy sponsor trust school pupils improve.  Our first priority must therefore be to support local students at Barclay School, and we condemn this recent upheaval as completely unnecessary.

The Council notes that parents of transferring year 6 students were not aware of the imminent transfer when they had to submit preferences before 1st November 2018 and is concerned that the school may no longer be accessible and affordable for not for profit community activities after this hostile take over.

We send our support to the parents, pupils and staff of Barclay School who are coming together to defend a vital resource for their local community.  Thousands of people from across Stevenage have told the Education Secretary that they want Barclay to be locally rooted and accountable, yet he has refused to even answer their petition. We therefore call on the Secretary of State to respond to the people of Stevenage who have signed this petition immediately.

We believe that the process for handing over this school has been flawed and ministers have real questions to answer about how this decision is being made. As such, we urge the Regional Schools Commissioner to review the conversion timetable and whether the designation of Future Academies Trust is appropriate.

Instead of imposing a conversion that our community is overwhelmingly against, the Secretary of State for Education should work with parents, staff, the community and local Councillors to support the school. In light of the recent rapid improvements at the school, the Secretary of State for Education has the power to rescind the academy order. We call on him to do so immediately, so that the school can get back to helping local young people “Believe, Achieve and Exceed.”

After a full debate including contributions from the public gallery, it was moved, seconded and RESOLVED:

“That Stevenage Borough Council notes that 2019 will mark the 70th Anniversary of the local Barclay School and thanks all current and past staff for the opportunities they have provided for thousands of local children.  Therefore we regret that by June, when the anniversary would have been celebrated, the school may not exist in its currently recognisable form, given the forced academisation process the school is being put through.

Barclay School is an important community asset for Stevenage.  After many years of academisation, no evidence exists to suggest that the educational outcomes of multi-academy sponsor trust school pupils improve.  Our first priority must therefore be to support local students at Barclay School, and we condemn this recent upheaval as completely unnecessary.

The Council notes that parents of transferring year 6 students were not aware of the imminent transfer when they had to submit preferences before 1st November 2018 and is concerned that the school may no longer be accessible and affordable for not for profit community activities after this hostile take over.

We send our support to the parents, pupils and staff of Barclay School who are coming together to defend a vital resource for their local community.  Thousands of people from across Stevenage have told the Education Secretary that they want Barclay to be locally rooted and accountable, yet he has refused to even answer their petition. We therefore call on the Secretary of State to respond to the people of Stevenage who have signed this petition immediately.

We believe that the process for handing over this school has been flawed and ministers have real questions to answer about how this decision is being made. As such, we urge the Regional Schools Commissioner to review the conversion timetable and whether the designation of Future Academies Trust is appropriate.

Instead of imposing a conversion that our community is overwhelmingly against, the Secretary of State for Education should work with parents, staff, the community and local Councillors to support the school. In light of the recent rapid improvements at the school, the Secretary of State for Education has the power to rescind the academy order. We call on him to do so immediately, so that the school can get back to helping local young people “Believe, Achieve and Exceed.”

In accordance with Paragraph 22 of Part 4 of the Council’s Standing Orders, a recorded vote was taken on this item. Details of the recorded vote will be published in the minutes of the meeting.

The officer report (attached as item 3) on the Housing Revenue Account Final Budget Proposals 2019/2020 and Rent-Setting is to be considered by the Executive on 23 January 2019.  The Executive’s recommendations to Council will be circulated on a supplementary agenda.

Prior to the debate, the Chief Executive referred to the Supplementary Agenda (tabled), which set out the Executive’s recommendations to Council following consideration of this matter at its meeting held on 23 January 2019. In addition, the Chief Executive advised that there was an amendment to Page 42 of the agenda (item SC18) – the figure in the second column should be £2 per week rather than £2 per year.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing Health and Older People in consultation with the Assistant Director Finance and Estates agreed to send a written response to Councillor Parker regarding future rent increases in view of the Government Policy around recent rent caps.

It was RESOLVED:

1.            That Council be recommended to approve HRA dwelling rents not subject to the 1% rent reduction (currently Low Start Shared Ownership LSSOs) be increased, week commencing 1 April 2019 by 3.4% i.e. £3.86 per week which has been calculated using the existing rent formula, CPI +1% in line with the Rent and Service Charge Policy approved at the January 2018 Council.

2.            That it be noted that HRA dwelling rents, (other than those outlined in 2.1) are subject to the 1% rent reduction from week commencing 1 April 2019 or £0.96 and £1.60 per week for social and affordable rents respectively, as outlined in the Government’s Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016.

3.            That Council be recommended to approve the 2019/20 HRA budget, as set out in Appendix A.

4.            That Executive approve the revised 2018/19 HRA budget as set out in Appendix A.

5.            That Council be recommended to approve the HRA Fees and Charges as outlined in Appendix C.

6.            That Council be recommended to approve the 2019/20 service charges.

7.            That Council be recommended to approve the minimum level of reserves for 2019/20 as shown in Appendix D to this report.

8.            That the contingency sum of £250,000 within which the Executive can approve supplementary estimates, be approved for 2019/20 (unchanged from 2018/19.

9.            That Council notes the comments from the overview and Scrutiny Committee as set out in the report.

To appoint Trustees to the Shephall Relief in Need charity.

It was RESOLVED that the appointment of Rodney Brittain, David Hughes and Sarah Kingsland as trustees of Shephall Relief In Need be approved.