Location: Council Chamber, Daneshill House
Present: B.G. Underwood (Mayor), B. Jackson (Deputy Mayor), S. Batson, CC, G. Clark, D.W. Cullen, CC, M. Downing, CC, P.E.J. Gallagher, J. Gardner, B.P. Hall, L. Harrington, R.J. Henry, J. Hollywell (from 7.30pm), T.G.M. Kent, CC, P.D. Kissane, L. Knight, JP, L.A. Lambert, C. Latif, Mrs J.E. Lloyd, J. Lloyd, CC, M.A. Mason, S.M. Myson, M. Notley, R.G. Parker, CC, J. Pickersgill, J.R. Raynor, D. Royall, G. Snell, S.K. Speller, Mrs L.G. Strange, S. Taylor, H.C.L. Tessier, A.T. Turner, K. Vale and Mrs P.A Webb
Others: 2 Members of the Public.
Duration:
Start Time: 7.00pm
End Time: 9.20pm
Status: Noted
Business: Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors R.A. Clark, D.M. Monaghan, M.P. Patston, Reg Smith, MBE, DL and P. Stuart.
Councillor S. Taylor declared a prejudicial interest in Item 7 relating to the amalgamation of the Police Forces and left the meeting during consideration of this item.
Councillor S. Batson declared a non-prejudicial interest in Item 7 relating to the amalgamation of the Police Forces.
Decision:
Status: Agreed
Business:
Decision: It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 1st March 2006, having been circulated, be taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Mayor as a correct record subject to Councillor Margaret Notely being added to the attendance list.
Status: Noted
Business: The Mayor announced that on Saturday, 1st April he had the sad duty of representing the town at the funeral of Councillor Robert Ellis, the Leader of Hertfordshire County Council. He requested all those present at the meeting to observe one minute silence in his memory.
Following the silence, Councillors Brian Hall, Graham Clark and Robin Parker paid their own tributes to Councillor Ellis.
The Mayor then informed Members that since he last attended Council he had been on 41 engagements. These ranged from attending the launch of the police plan, taking part in a quiz, attending sports events and hosting visitors from as far away as Sweden and Kazakhstan.
Ouite a large proprotion of these visits involved the young people of the town, whether in their schools or at events such as the National Children's Swimathon or at the Young Apprentices Award Ceremony. The Mayor advised that he was heartened at events involving young people as they always affirmed what a credit they were to the town.
The Mayor also spoke about his delight in helping the children of the school in Sri Lanka that the Mayor's Tsunami Fund was assisting. He hosted an evening meal at the Taj Mahal Indian restaurant and the proceeds of over £500 made a welcome contribution to the project.
The Mayor concluded by saying how proud he was to be at the Britain in Bloom launch and unfurl the banner.
At this point, the Mayor advised that he had to leave the meeting due to a prior engagement. Councillor B. Jackson (Deputy Mayor) took the Chair.
Decision:
Status: Noted
Business: The Deputy Mayor announced that the Main Depate concerned the Town's entry in the Britain in Bloom competition. He invtied John Crawley, Street Scene and Open Spaces Manager to give a presentation on the issue.
John Crawley concluded his presentation by stating that the campaign was progressing well with many organisations and individuals involved. The publicity surrounding Britain in Bloom had been very strong and businesses were starting to come on board. The Council's key strength was the ability to involve a wide cross section of the whole community.
In response to a number of questions, John Crawley advised that in response to the drought order recently imposed, the hosepipe ban related to household rather than commercial use. The Council would endeavour to reinforce the message through regular publicity channels and the Council would look to the long-term, for example by planting sustainable displays in verges.
Councillor Sue Myson opened the debate by moving a motion. The motion was seconded by Councillor John Gardner and debated by Councillors.
Members congratulated John Crawley and his team on all that had been achieved and for all the plans for future events.
Decision: Following further debate, it was RESOLVED:-
That this Council fully supports the Stevenage 2006 Britain in Bloom campaign and wishes the In Bloom Forum every success in the competition.
Status: Noted
Business: There were none received.
Decision:
Status: Noted
Business: A question had been received from Mr. Kenneth Poole concerning the extension to the runway at Luton Airport. A response was given by the Executive Councillor (Environment). Mr. Poole asked a supplementary question to which the Executive Councillor (Environment) also responded.
Decision:
Status: Noted
Business: In accordance with Standing Order (II), the Leader of the Opposition raised the matter of disabled access to the Civic Suite particularly the difficulty experienced by wheelchair users on the thick pile carpet.
The Deputy Leader of the Council stated that the issue of disabled access had been taken seriously by the Council and that £421,000 had been allocated to make Council buildings more easily accessbile for people with disabilities. Officers would respond directly to the Leader of the Opposition regarding the carpet in the Civic Suite.
The Leader of the Council then asked Councillor Sherma Batson as a Member of the Police Authority to advise the Council of the proposed amalgamation of the Hertfordshire, Essex and Bedfordshire Police Forces.
Note: Councillor S. Taylor having declared a Prejudicial Interest left the meeting during discussion of the item.
Decision: Councillor Batson moved a motion which was duly seconded. Following debate, it was RESOLVED:-
'That Stevenage Borough Council continues to support strong local neighbourhood policing for Stevenage. We believe this can best be achieved by strengthening the resilience of the police force at strategic level so that it can deal adequately with major crime and protective services without abstracting local police resources.
This Council believes that merging Hertfordshire Police with forces in Essex and Bedfordshire would deliver that resilience and stronger local policing for Stevenage and therefore supports the proposal of the Home Secretary.
We urge the Police Authorities in the three counties to support a voluntary merger to bring the larger force into being without unnecessary delay.'
Status: Noted
Business: There were none received.
Decision:
Status: Noted
Business: There were none received.
Decision:
Status: Agreed
Business: The Council considered a report and recommendations from the meeting of the Executive on 22nd March, 2006 concerning the 2005/06 Capital Programme and the 5 Year Capital Strategy.
It was noted that the Scrutiny Overview Committee had made no comments as any questions or concerns had been addressed at the All Member Briefing held at the Executive Meeting on 22nd March.
Decision: It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the updated 5 Year Capital Strategy, including the following be approved:-
a) That the Transitional Negative Subsidy Transfer to General Fund Revenue from the HRA Major Repairs Allowance effectively be 'made good' from Usable RTB Receipts, leaving the HRA with MRA at full subsidy level.
b) With the exception of the Capital Receipts referred to at a) above, the 25% usable proportion of RTB Receipts be allocated to the General Fund from 2006/07 onwards.
c) That actions required to bring the 5 Year Capital Strategy into balance be considered by the Corporate Capital Review Group and reported back to the Executive in due course.
Status: Agreed
Business: The Council considered a report and recommendations from the meeting of the Executive on 22nd March, 2006 concerning the financial details of the ALMO bid.
It was noted that the Scrutiny Overview Committee had made no comments as any questions or concerns had been addressed at the All Member Briefing held at the Executive Meeting on 22nd March.
It was also noted that Councillor Brian Underwood would be serving on the Shadow ALMO Board and not Councillor David Kissane as detailed in the report.
Decision: It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the advertising and letting of the Decent Homes Contracts be agreed and, for the avoidance of doubt, the award of the contracts, anticipated in October 2006, be delegated to the Executive.
Status: Agreed
Business: The Council considered a report and recommendations from the meeting of the Executive on 22nd March 2006 concerning the 2006/07 Best Value Performance Plan. It was noted that the outturn performance information for 2005/06, was not yet available and would be reported in the new Municipal Year.
Decision: With that, it was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the 2006/07 Best Value Performance Plan be approved subject to the addition of the relevant outturn information.
Status: Agreed
Business: The Chair of the Scrutiny Overview Committee introduced a report on the work undertaken by his Committee and the four Scrutiny Panels during the 2005/06 Municipal Year.
Decision: It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the work undertaken by the Scrutiny Overview Committee and the four Scrutiny Panels during 2005/06, as detailed in the report, be noted.
Status: Noted
Business: None.
Decision: