Agenda and minutes

None.

The Lord Mayor invited the Monitoring Officer to brief Council in respect of declarations regarding item 6.1 on the agenda ‘Pay Policy Statement 2014/15’.

The Monitoring Officer reminded Council that the report did not set the pay of the Council officers referred to within it.  He noted that those Members who had partners or close associates who were officers but had made that declaration on their register of interests did not need to re-declare them.  He suggested that his view was that unless a Members partner was at Divisional Director level or above there would not be a Declarable Personal Interest and unless a close associate was at Divisional Director level there wouldn’t be a prejudicial interest.  However the Monitoring Officer reminded Members that was just his advice and the judgement was for each individual Member to make.  If a Declarable Personal Interest or Prejudicial Interest was declared the Member would need to leave the room.

Councillor Senior declared a Declarable Personal Interest in item 6.1 on the agenda as her partner was an officer of the Council and stated that she would leave the room for the duration of this item.

Councillor Westley declared an ‘other declarable interest’ in item 6.2 on the agenda as he was in possession of a concessionary travel pass.

There were no further declarations.

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

38.       That the minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 23 January 2014 and the Special Budget Meeting held on 26 February 2014, having been printed and a copy sent to each Member of the Council, be taken as read and that they be approved as correct records of the respective meetings.

PETITIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

None.

PETITIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

Councillor Grant presented a petition with 152 signatures in the following terms:

“Due to the deterioration of the road surface and the damage it is causing to vehicles this petition is to present Leicester City Council to raise awareness of its condition and request action to resurface the Knighton Church Road.”

The Lord Mayor stated that under Council Procedure Rule 13h the aforementioned petitions would be referred tothe Monitoring Officer for consideration and action as appropriate.

-       From Members of the Public

-       From Councillors

QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC.

Lord Mayor – Mr. Dickson please. 

Mr. Dickson – Cars parked on the pavement cause an obstruction to disabled people in wheelchairs, those who are blind and visually impaired and individuals pushing buggies.  The list is endless.  The damage done to the pavement in the City of Leicester by pavement parking to which the tax payer has to then foot the bill must be huge.  I have enclosed a letter from my MP, Liz Kendal, in which country wide legislation is outlined by the Department of Transport giving Councils power to enforce parking restrictions across the board.  Also it mentioned A boards are supposed to be within the shop’s curtilage i.e. a straight line not an obstruction or obstacle course. As a visually impaired person I wish to ask the Council what their policy is with regard to pavement parking and enforcing shop furniture placement and will they consider the issues raised if, as I already believe, they don’t enforce at present time with the possibility of future tougher enforcement.  Thank you.

Lord Mayor – City Mayor.

City Mayor – Thank you my Lord Mayor and can I thank Mr. Dickson for his question because I know that he is actually representing a very widely held concern about the two issues, the parking on the pavements and indeed the inappropriate placing of A boards.  The Council has for a long time acknowledged the impact of pavement parking and does issue fixed penalty notices to offending vehicles where there is an existing parking restriction in place because that restriction generally applies right to the back of the footway.  But I think it is quite right to question whether that is done in a consistent way and whether it has the desired effect of preventing obstructions on the footway.  It is of course the case that there are some streets in the City that don’t have any parking restrictions and there of course it is much more difficult to take civil enforcement action.  But as I say what Mr. Dickson expresses is a concern that is widely held and Members have recognised that this is a significant concern, and as a result of that the Economic Development Transport and Tourism Scrutiny Commission under the Chair of Councillor Waddington has undertaken to examine this issue in detail in the forthcoming months.  I think it is their intention that this will provide an opportunity for members of the public, and I would inviteMr. Dickson to perhaps be one that gave evidence to them, to let them know their views on pavement parking and the approach we should take to regulation and particularly to the enforcement in future.  On the matter of A boards I do know, it has been a matter of debate over many years, and I do know that the Council has a well-established policy on the placement of A boards and other shop furniture, but again I think there are legitimate questions as to how consistently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

6.1       Pay Policy Statement 2014/15

6.2       Capital Programme 2014/15

Having declared a Declarable Personal Interest in this item Councillor Senior left the Chamber for the duration of the following debate.

Pay Policy Statement 2014 / 15

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Palmer and carried:

39.  That:

1.    The Council approves the Pay Policy Statement 2014/15; and

2.    that the Employees Committee will continue to act on behalf of Full Council as the Remuneration Committee in relation to matters concerning policy on senior pay, and will specifically consider any salary packages in excess of £100,000 and any severance packages in excess of £100,000.

Capital Programme 2014 /15

Councillor Senior returned to the Chamber.

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Palmer and carried:

40. That the City Council approve the Capital Programme as:

1.    described in the report attached to the Council agenda and;

2.    set out in the specific recommendations reproduced in Appendix B to the script and attached hereto.

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

None.

Proposed by Councillor Clarke, seconded by Councillor Sood:

Leicester City Leicester City Council recognises the plight of asylum seekers forced to flee their home countries due to conflict and persecution. Many arrive in the UK after having been threatened, detained, beaten or tortured.
 
An adult seeking protection in this country who has no other source of support will receive just over £5 a day to pay for food, clothing, toiletries and travel (accommodation and utilities are paid for separately for those who have nowhere to live). They are not allowed to work to support themselves. If their claims are refused by the Home Office, they lose all support and are left destitute and street homeless.

In the last six months of 2013 the British Red Cross Leicester Refugee Support Services have carried out 1,659 actions (e.g. the issuing of food parcels, sleeping bags) to support 325 destitute asylum seekers in Leicester. Of these 108 were new cases and it is likely that this reflects the impact of welfare reforms in general and has resulted in  a reduction in community capacity to continue to support such persons.  Leicester City Council is concerned about such destitution and its impact on local communities.  

Leicester is a welcoming and inclusive city and wants to join those local authorities (Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford, Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford)petitioning the Home Secretary to relieve the suffering of people seeking sanctuary and especially those people who have yet to be granted leave to remain in the UK.
 
Leicester City Council approves the following actions:
 
1. Write on behalf of Leicester City Council to the Minister of State for Immigration questioning  Government policies that force asylum seekers into destitution; expressing concern over the low level of support available to asylum seekers; seeking a change of policy to allow local authorities to assist refused asylum seekers who are in danger of falling into destitution; asking that such asylum seekers should be able to work to support themselves if they have been waiting for more than 6 months for their cases to be resolved; and demanding that local authorities should be permitted to provide emergency provision to refused asylum seekers as to other homeless people.
 
2. Ask Leicester’s MPs to support the spirit of this motion, to raise the matter in the House of Commons, and to support a change in current laws regarding asylum applications by removing restrictions on local authorities in the support they can provide to destitute asylum seekers.

3. Leicester City Council officers to produce a report summarising existing support for asylum seekers available in Leicester including housing, training, education, and legal advice open to vulnerable asylum applicants.
 
4. Leicester City Council to join the national campaign "Still Human, Still Here" (a coalition of 60 organisations, including several city councils, the Church of England and Catholic Archbishop Conferences, Crisis, Oxfam, and the Red Cross, who are proposing practical solutions to ending the destitution of refused asylum seekers in the UK.)

5. Leicester City Council to seek further  ...  view the full agenda text for item 52.

41. Proposed by Councillor Clarke, seconded by Councillor Sood and carried:

“Leicester City Council recognises the plight of asylum seekers forced to flee their home countries due to conflict and persecution. Many arrive in the UK after having been threatened, detained, beaten or tortured.

An adult seeking protection in this country who has no other source of support will receive just over £5 a day to pay for food, clothing, toiletries and travel (accommodation and utilities are paid for separately for those who have nowhere to live). They are not allowed to work to support themselves. If their claims are refused by the Home Office, they lose all support and are left destitute and street homeless.

In the last six months of 2013 the British Red Cross Leicester Refugee Support Services have carried out 1,659 actions (e.g. the issuing of food parcels, sleeping bags) to support 325 destitute asylum seekers in Leicester. Of these 108 were new cases and it is likely that this reflects the impact of welfare reforms in general and has resulted in a reduction in community capacity to continue to support such persons.  Leicester City Council is concerned about such destitution and its impact on local communities.

Leicester is a welcoming and inclusive city and wants to join those local authorities (Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford, Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford) petitioning the Home Secretary to relieve the suffering of people seeking sanctuary and especially those people who have yet to be granted leave to remain in the UK.

Leicester City Council approves the following actions: 

1. Write on behalf of Leicester City Council to the Minister of State for Immigration questioning Government policies that force asylum seekers into destitution; expressing concern over the low level of support available to asylum seekers; seeking a change of policy to allow local authorities to assist refused asylum seekers who are in danger of falling into destitution; asking that such asylum seekers should be able to work to support themselves if they have been waiting for more than 6 months for their cases to be resolved; and demanding that local authorities should be permitted to provide emergency provision to refused asylum seekers as to other homeless people.

2. Ask Leicester’s MPs to support the spirit of this motion, to raise the matter in the House of Commons, and to support a change in current laws regarding asylum applications by removing restrictions on local authorities in the support they can provide to destitute asylum seekers.

3. Leicester City Council officers to produce a report summarising existing support for asylum seekers available in Leicester including housing, training, education, and legal advice open to vulnerable asylum applicants.

4. Leicester City Council to join the national campaign "Still Human, Still Here" (a coalition of 60 organisations, including several city councils, the Church of England and Catholic Archbishop Conferences, Crisis, Oxfam, and the Red Cross, who are proposing practical solutions to ending the destitution of refused asylum seekers in the UK).

5. Leicester City Council to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

None.

As this was the last meeting before Annual Council the City Mayor thanked the Lord Mayor for the way he had conducted the business of the Council and for his patience, tact, impartiality and unfailing good humour in his Charing of Council meetings during his year in office.  This was supported by all present.

The Lord Mayor declared the meeting closed at 7.30pm