Agenda and minutes

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

Councillors declared interests as detailed below:

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

10.    That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 21 March 2013 and the Annual Meeting 23 May 2013, having been printed and a copy sent to each Member of the Council be taken as read and that they be approved as a correct record and;

that Annual Meeting in 2014 be held on Thursday 29 May 2014.

PETITIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

Ms Pauline Haines presented a petition with 566 signatures in the following terms:

“We the undersigned wish to register our protest at the proposed closure of Nuffield House Elderly Persons’ Home”.

PETITIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

Councillor Dempster presented a petition with 11 signatures in the following terms:

“We the undersigned protest at, object to and deplore in the strongest possible terms the expressed intended removal of the locks from the communal drying rooms at Gresley Close, Beaumont Leys.  We also protest at, object to and deplore the fact that this action is apparently to be imposed without any consultation whatsoever with the tenants.

We also protest at, object to and deplore the fact that the above action will clearly render the drying rooms unusable for that purpose by removal of all security for items legitimately placed there to dry.  The security doors are unlocked for the whole of each and every morning of every day.  At least one tenant has already had clothing stolen from an unlocked drying room.

We believe that the above action is in fact illegal, in that changing or removal of locks by a landlord without a tenant’s consent constitutes ‘harassment of a tenant’, a serious criminal offense.  The drying rooms are clearly part of the property rented by each tenant.  An element of the rent clearly established during the preceding thirty-six yeas life of these buildings.

We also protest at, object to and deplore the fact that he author of the above enclosed letter fails to identify themselves in print, fails to include a correspondence address on their letter and seeks to avoid responsibility for their actions by concealing their identity with a perfunctory scrawl of a scribbled monograph.

We request that all drying room locks be reinstated and that all tenants herein undersigned are provided with keys thereto.”

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

11.       That the aforementioned petitions be referred tothe Monitoring Officer for consideration and action as appropriate.

There were no questions from members of the public.

Questions from Councillors

Cllr. Waddington:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  Will the City Mayor write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer pointing out that the introduction of the Robin Hood tax in the UK would raise up to £20 billion which could be used to boost the economy and fund vital public services.  Will he also explain in his letter that this tax would provide an opportunity for the financial sector to make a contribution towards cleaning up the mess it caused rather than the burden falling upon local authorities like Leicester City Council and our citizens.  Would the City Mayor ask George Osborne to therefore introduce the Robin Hood tax in the UK and drop his legal challenge to prevent the tax being implemented in other European countries that have already agreed it?

Lord Mayor: City Mayor

City Mayor:  Thank you Lord Mayor. I particularly welcome the opportunity to answer this question on the day after the government announced further and even more savage cuts in the basic services that people expect from their local councils.  The Robin Hood tax, or the financial transactions tax to give it its full title, has been proposed by campaigners to obtain funding from the financial sector to support general government expenditure and I think also particularly it has been argued that it is a way in which to contribute to supporting some of the poorest countries in the world and to enable aid to be given to them.  In fact 11 EU states including France and Germany, but of course excluding the UK, have already signed up to a tax of this sort from the summer of 2014 and I very much regret that the British government has sought to dismiss the imposition of such a tax in the UK in the way they have.  I will certainly be writing to the Chancellor to make the arguments as Cllr. Waddington has outlined them in her question.  I did incidentally have the opportunity this morning to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister and to ask him to back our City Deal in Leicester, and it did occur to me how much better it would be if the government were able to put some resources where their rhetoric is in that respect.  Frankly a chunk of that £20 billion invested in skills and jobs here in Leicester would be money very well spent rather than leaving it in the coffers of the financial institutions that are so much the cause of the financial mess this country finds itself in.

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Waddington do you have a supplementary question?   Cllr. Meghani, question number 2.

Cllr. Meghani:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  Can the relevant Cabinet Lead please advise on what progress has been made thus far on creating a water based facility within the City for the consecration of ashes following cremation?

Lord Mayor:  Cllr. Sood.

Cllr. Sood:  Thank you my  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

6.1       Provision of Community Care to People who Access Substance Misuse    Service.

Provision of Community Care Assessment Services for People who Misuse Substances

A report was submitted which sought acceptance of a delegated function from Leicestershire and Rutland County Councils.

Moved by Councillor R Patel, seconded by Councillor Moore and carried:

12.       That Council approve the delegation to the Council of a social care function by Leicestershire and Rutland County Councils of their community care assessment and care management arrangements for people who misuse substances from 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2016.

7.1       Scrutiny Annual Report 2013/14

Scrutiny Annual Report

Councillor Cassidy (Chair of Overview Select Committee 2012-13) submitted a report which gave details of the work of Scrutiny during 2012-13.

Moved by Councillor Cassidy, seconded by Councillor Joshi and carried:

13.     That Council notes and endorses the work of Scrutiny during 2012-13.

8.1    Appointment of Chief Operating Officer.

Appointment of Head of Paid Service

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

14.     That Council agrees to the appointment of Andrew Keeling as the Chief Operating Officer and Head of Paid Service.

To note any changes to the Executive.To vary the composition and fill any vacancies of any Committee of the Council.

Moved by the Councillor Clayton, seconded by Councillor Cooke and carried:

15.     That under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 35 (a) (i) Council agree that the size of the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Commission be increased by one Member.

None received.

Close of Meeting

The Lord Mayor declared the meeting closed at 7.05pm.