Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor made no announcements.

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

No declarations were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2019 are available to view at:

http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk:8071/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=81&MId=9385&Ver=4

Copies are also available from Democratic Support on (0116) 454 6350 or committees@leicester.gov.uk

Moved by the Lord Mayor, seconded by Deputy Lord Mayor and carried:

That the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 3^rd October 2019, copies having been circulated to each Member of the Council, be taken as read and that each be approved as a correct record.

The following statement was made:

Councillor Clarke, Deputy City Mayor, Environment and Transportation, informed Council about developments in relation to the Council’s response to the climate emergency. He noted that work in this area was a political priority and dealing with it would require prompt action to be taken and may involve changes to the way people live and work. It could however also have positive developments in terms of economic development and job creation. A programme of events as part of the Climate Emergency conversation was being undertaken, including online consultation, a discussion forum, a climate assembly, a school’s climate assembly and a range of other events and discussions. He stressed that it was important for people to have their say on this vital issue.

-           Presented by Members of the Public

-           Presented by Councillors

Petitions from members of the public

There were no petitions received from members of the public.

Petitions from Councillors

There were no petitions received from Councillors.

Questions from Members of the Public

There were no questions from members of the public.

Questions from Councillors

The following questions were asked by Councillors and details of who responded are also included below. The full details of questions and the responses can viewed on the webcast of the meeting on the Council’s website at:

https://leicester.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/454048

We maintain a comprehensive library of webcast Council meetings. The webcast for this meeting will remain on the live website until 14^th November 2020, and after this date can be requested from the Democratic Support Team by contacting (0116) 454 6350 or at committtees@leicester.gov.uk.

For your convenience, links to each question and response are embedded after each question below.

1.         Councillor Waddington: -

“November is Islamophobia Awareness month. This is important because there has been a considerable increase in reports to the Leicestershire Police of hate crimes, including those against Muslims, in the last year.

In June 2018 this Council unanimously passed a motion on hate crime, which specifically mentioned Islamophobia, and which called for the Council to produce an action plan to combat hate crime.

Can the City Mayor please tell me what progress has been made in producing this action plan and when it will be brought to this Council for discussion and consideration?”

Deputy City Mayor, Councillor Clair replied.

Link to webcast of question 1

The Lord Mayor agreed to take the following 2 questions out of order.

2.         Councillor Waddington: -

“Bristol City Council has made history by proposing to ban all diesel vehicles from the City centre. Could Leicester City Council do the same and if so when will this be considered?”

Deputy City Mayor Councillor Clarke replied.

Link to webcast of question 2

8.         Councillor O’Donnell:-

“Leicester City have had their boxing day fixture delayed kick off to 8.00 PM. This presents an enormous logistical challenge as public transport will be very limited. Would it possible to work with the club to perhaps looking at utilising our park and ride facilities (funded by the club) and have buses taking people in and out of the city to cut down on traffic and dangerous and illegal parking?”

Deputy City Mayor Councillor Clarke replied.

Link to webcast of question 8

17.       Councillor Dawood:-

“Could the Cabinet lead for recycling explain the reduction in Leicester City recycling which is below the national average?”

Deputy City Mayor Councillor Clarke replied.

Link to webcast of question 17

3.         Councillor Cole: -

“What is the wage disparity between White Teachers and Black Ethnic Minority Teachers in Leicester City Maintained schools?”

Assistant City Mayor Councillor Cutkelvin replied.

Link to webcast of question 3

4.         Councillor Cole: -

“What percentage of the Head Teachers in the Leicester City Maintained schools are from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds?”

Assistant City Mayor Councillor Cutkelvin replied.

Link to webcast to question 4

5.         Councillor Cole: -

“What percentage of the school Governors are from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds?”

Assistant City Mayor Councillor Cutkelvin  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

Moved by Councillor Cank, seconded by Council Joel and carried:

That Council;

a)     approves the Scheme of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations for the City of Leicester as detailed at Appendix A of the report; to be formally adopted on 1 February 2020 when a revised electoral register will be published; and

b)     delegates to the (Acting) Returning Officer any decision to designate an alternative polling place if a building becomes unavailable for any reason before an election, subject to appropriate consultation with relevant local stakeholders.

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Assistant City Mayor Councillor Cutkelvin, and carried:

That Council;

a)     approves the addition of £70m to the HRA Capital Programme for the delivery of new homes as described in the report;

b)     approves the categorisation of expenditure on such Affordable Housing as an “immediate start” enabling the Director of Housing to commit expenditure, subject only to the proviso that where spend on an individual site (acquisition of land/buildings and/or construction) exceeds £1m then further formal approval from the City Mayor will be required; and

c)      notes that to give effect to the qualification outlined in paragraph 2 above, the City Mayor will amend his Scheme of Delegation so that expenditure on such Affordable Housing will qualify as a “reserved matter” above £1m.

Moved by Councillor Dr. Barton, seconded by Councillor Shelton and carried:

that the report be noted.

-        To note any changes to the Executive

-        To vary the composition and fill any vacancies of any Committee of the Council

There was no Executive or committees business.

There being no urgent business, the Lord Mayor declared the meeting closed at 7.17pm.