Agenda and minutes

1.    RAISING MONEY FOR THE HOMELESS

The Lord Mayor shared an updated where £3000 was raised to help homeless people in the city. Two young people built themselves a shelter and slept outside in tents to raise money for the homeless. The Lord Mayor noted the kindness and courage shown and was encouraged to see young children making a difference.

2.    SHAMA WOMEN’S CENTRE

The Lord Mayor announced that the Sharma Women’s Centre has been awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.  The Centre has served vulnerable women and their families in Leicester for 39 years, encouraging women to become more active socially and to improve their health and wellbeing. This was delivered through a range of support services, including training, education, employment and domestic abuse services. The Sharma Women’s Centre is one of 231 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the award, which is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK. The Lord Mayor acknowledged the valuable contribution from the Shama Women’s centre and expressed congratulations.

3.    DEFIBRILLATORS IN THE COMMUNITY

The Lord Mayor highlighted the valuable work of the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust with their ongoing campaign to install public defibrillators in our local communities. The Lord Mayor encouraged collaboration in increasing the number of defibrillators into the wards, and reminded members that ward funding can be used to help towards the funding of these devices.

4.    DISASTER RELIEF FOR JAMAICA

The Lord Mayor informed the Council that on 28 October 2025, Hurricane Melissa, hit Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean leaving a devasting trail of destruction causing extensive damage to homes and infrastructure and the loss of many lives. It was the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in modern history and brought violent winds, flash flooding and landslides. Millions of people had been affected and much of the population remains without electricity.  The Lord Mayor expressed thoughts and prayers with those affected by the tragedy and noted that further information on donating to the cause had been circulated via the Members Bulletin.

The Lord Mayor invited Members to declare any interests they might have in the business to be discussed.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2025 are available to view at:

Agenda for Council on Thursday, 18 September 2025, 5:00 pm

Copies are also available from Governance Services on (0116) 454 6350 or governance@leicester.gov.uk

The Lord Mayor, seconded by the Deputy Lord Mayor, to move:

“That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 September 2025 be taken as read and are approved as a correct record.”

The Lord Mayor put the motion to the vote and declared the motion carried.

Councillor Sood MBE thanked Leicester communities for coming together to celebrate the annual Interfaith week from the 9^th to the 16^th of November 2025 beginning from Remembrance Sunday this year. The initiative included webinars helping to increase awareness of others belonging to other faiths and beliefs and encourages understanding, respect, cooperation and the importance of social action. Councillor Sood expressed thanks and pride in the dialogue between groups and shared commitment from people of different faiths and beliefs.

-           Presented by Members of the Public - None

-           Presented by Councillors

Councillor Dave, Traffic calming measures on Lanesborough Road

-           Petitions to be debated - None

Petitions from Members of the Public

No petitions were received from Members of the Public.

Petitions from Councillors

Councillor Dave presented the petition with 69 valid signatures in the following terms:

““We, the undersigned residents of Lanesborough Road, Rushey Mead ward, Leicester, are deeply concerned about the increasing number of speeding vehicles and the serious dangers they pose to school children, pedestrians, and elderly residents living in this area.

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community, we respectfully urge Leicester City Council to take immediate action by installing traffic calming measures, such as:

1.             A 20 MPH speed limit zone

2.             Pole-mounted electronic speed indicator signs, road humps or speed cushions

These measures will help to reduce speeding, improve road safety, and protect the lives of all residents and visitors using Lanesborough Road.”

Under Council Procedure Rule 13a, the aforementioned petition was referred to the Monitoring Officer for consideration and action as appropriate.

Please note that a full record of the questions and responses is available on the recording of the meeting at Council - 20 November 2025 - YouTube. Time codes for each question will be provided before the wording of the question.

QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

Questions 1-3 from the public were withdrawn, as Maria Rooney was not in attendance to present the questions.  

4.       Alderman Ned Newitt

0:22:40 - 0:31:05

“Noting that the Council has a statutory responsibility to provide allotments, this question relates to the terms of the draft lease which is currently being offered to the City’s 23 allotment societies, who for the last 100 years have collected rents and managed the lettings of about 3,000 plots – this being a much cheaper option than the Council's direct management of each site. It relates to the proposed ‘repairing’ lease which is a clear departure from past practice and is of great concern to many allotment committees.
Given that the City Council has already had to take over the management of one large site in Aylestone because the committee stepped down, what are the likely consequences of making local volunteer committees responsible for the additional costs and duties of financing and managing the repair and maintenance of gates, perimeter fences, tree works, roadways and water infrastructure of 118 hectares of City Council land for a 30-year period?”

Cllr Dempster provided a response to this question and to Anderman Ned Newitt’s supplemental question.

5.       Rishu Walia

0:31:05 - 0:38:00

“The question is regarding the recent public artwork displayed in Leicester involving an image of Mata Durga, which many in our community found deeply inappropriate and offensive.

 Was the commissioning organisation aware of the religious importance of Diwali in the Hindu faith before approving the concept?

Were any consultations made with recognised Hindu temples or religious organisations before the artwork was approved or displayed?

Were any major Hindu religious or cultural organisations involved or consulted in the creation or approval process?

Were local Hindu artists or cultural contributors invited to participate in shaping the Diwali theme, considering it is the most significant festival in Hinduism?

Were any known Hindu artists previously approached or considered for this work, especially those with experience in traditional or religious art?

Which Hindu religious or cultural bodies (if any) endorsed or supported this particular painting?”

Cllr Cutkelvin provided a response to this question and to Rishi Walia’s supplemental question.

6. Nitesh Dave

0:38:00 - 0:42:10

“What actions has Leicester City Council taken to make proceedings at full council and committee meetings more accessible to members of the public both in person and online?”

City Mayor provided a response to this question and to Nitesh Dave’s supplemental question.

QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

Note The Lord Mayor requests that Members take account of the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 14 in the Council’s Constitution in putting questions and in particular Rule 14 (a) (vi) regarding supplementary questions:

“(vi) At the meeting, after a question has been given  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Please note that a full record of the of the discussion is available on the recording of the meeting at Council - 20 November 2025 - YouTube at time 2:23:35-2:46:45.

Councillor Dr Barton, seconded by Councillor Bajaj moved:

“Council is recommended to vote to censure Councillor Patrick Kitterick for his misconduct.”

Under Council Procedure Rule 29 of the Council’s Constitution, three Councillors requested a recorded vote.

A vote was put to the chamber by the Lord Mayor.

For the motion (27): Councillors: Agath, Aldred, Bajaj, Barton, Batool, Bonham, Cole, Cutkelvin, Dawood, Dempster, Halford, Joel, Kaur Saini, Malik, March, Mohammed, Moore, O’Neil, Pantling, Pickering, Russell, Singh-Johal, Singh-Sangha, Sood, Soulsby (City Mayor), Surti and Whittle.

Against the motion (3): Councillors: Kitterick, Porter and Sahu.

Abstaining from the motion (15): Councillors: Adatia, Barnes, Chauhan, Dave, Gopal, Haq, Joannou, Karavadra, Mahesh, Modhwadia, Orton, Osman, Rae-Bhatia, Singh-Patel and Westley.

The Lord Mayor declared the motion carried.

Please note that a full record of the of the discussion is available on the recording of the meeting at Council - 20 November 2025 - YouTube at time 2:46:45 - 3:41:00.

City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Cutkelvin moved:

“That Council approve the City Council’s final LGR proposals attached to this report for submission to Government by 28th November.

That Council notes the required compliant base and preferred proposal approach outlined in this report and set out in the final LGR submission.

That Council delegates authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the City Mayor, to make any final adjustments required following consideration at the Council meeting, and any other amendments required to complete the submission.”

Following the debate, the Lord Mayor put the motion to the vote and declared the motion carried.

Please note that a full record of the of the discussion is available on the recording of the meeting at Council - 20 November 2025 - YouTube at time 3:41:00 – 3:44:08.

Councillor Pantling, seconded by Councillor Batool moved:

“Full Council is recommended to endorse and agree the priorities within the Youth Justice Plan for 2025-2030.”

Following the discussion, the Lord Mayor put the motion to the vote and declared the motion carried.

Please note that a full record of the of the discussion is available on the recording of the meeting at Council - 20 November 2025 - YouTube at time 3:44:08 - 3:50:10.

Councillor Cutkelvin, seconded by Councillor Bajaj moved:

“Council is asked to approve the report and the contents of the Food Service Plan”

Following the debate, the Lord Mayor put the motion to the vote and declared the motion carried.

Please note that a full record of the of the discussion is available on the recording of the meeting at Council - 20 November 2025 - YouTube at time 3:50:10 – 3:53:57.

Councillor Dr Barton, seconded by Councillor Bajaj moved:

“For Council to note the biennial report.

For Council to agree the changes to the Arrangements set out in section 4 of the report.”

Following the debate, the Lord Mayor put the motion to the vote and declared the motion carried.

There were no notices of motion.

There being no other urgent business the meeting closed at 20:53pm.