Agenda and minutes

Before the meeting formally commenced the Lord Mayor invited his Chaplain, Father Lally to say an appropriate prayer.

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Council Meetings

The Lord Mayor noted that under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 2b in the Council’s Constitution an additional ordinary meeting of the Council would be held immediately following the meeting scheduled for 25 February 2015.

MP6 Event

The Lord Mayor was pleased to announce that on 27 June six young people from across Leicester schools would be taking part in a public speaking event. 

The ‘Member of Parliament 6’ event was a competition that gave students an opportunity to emphasise that voice is power and also served as a platform for young people to speak about issues that concerned them directly to those in power.  The Lord Mayor also explained that the event gave Members the opportunity to listen to the voices of young people and gain insight into their perspectives and ensured that young people knew that their voices were being heard.

As well as wishing the young people from Leicester well the Lord Mayor also strongly encouraged Members to watch the live feed of the competition at https://new.livestream.com/L4L/mp614 and leave a comment regarding the speeches or the issues discussed.

Appeal Supper

The Lord Mayor reminded Members of one of the first events for his Appeal which was to be a charity supper evening at Bobby’s Restaurant on Belgrave Road held on, 20 June 2014 at 7pm.  Tickets would be £15 and supported three very good causes.

Members were asked to contact the Member & Civic Support Team on 0116 454 0020 as soon as possible to reserve their place.

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

Councillor Sood declared a Declarable Personal Interest in item 6.2 on the agenda ‘Call in of Executive Decision – Supporting the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) – Outcome of Consultation and Future Options’ as Chair of the Leicestershire Council of Faiths.

Councillor Gugnani declared a Declarable Personal Interest in item 6.2 on the agenda ‘Call in of Executive Decision – Supporting the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) – Outcome of Consultation and Future Options’ as a member of the Leicestershire Council of Faiths.

Councillor Joshi declared a Declarable Personal Interest in item 6.2 on the agenda ‘Call in of Executive Decision – Supporting the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) – Outcome of Consultation and Future Options’ as a member of the Leicestershire Council of Faiths.

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

9.         That the minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 20 March 2014 and the Annual Council Meeting held on 29 May 2014, having been sent to each Member of the Council, be taken as read and that they be approved as a correct record.

PETITIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

Ms Sally Skyrme presented a petition with 1,162 signatures in the following terms:

“We the undersigned respectfully request that the Council considers naming the new square due to be opened in April 2014 ‘Peace Square’ rather than ‘Jubilee Square’ for reasons given below:-

·         We consider it to be far more appropriate in this year, the centenary of World War I, the ‘war to end all wars’, a war in which millions of ordinary people from all over the world died.

·         Leicester is a City well known for different communities from all over the world living side by side peacefully – the name ‘Peace Square’ would celebrate this.

·         The name ‘Peace Square’ would be a good contradiction to the hectic lifestyles people lead nowadays, especially in the town centre.  The name ‘Peace Square’ would resonate well with people wanting to go there to get some peace.

·         The elected Mayor of Leicester decided on the name ‘Jubilee Square’ because Leicester was the first city Queen Elizabeth II visited on her Diamond Jubilee tour two years ago.  That visit cost the city £220,000 which is money that we could ill afford in these times of cuts to services and living standards.  If the Queen contributed to the cost of the visit and the building of the square then there may be an argument for calling it Jubilee Square but she hasn’t.

·         We believe that a Labour majority council should be naming a square in honour of ordinary people not the aristocracy.

·         With regards to concern about duplicating the name Peace Walk in Victoria Park – there are also lots of other places in Leicester named ‘Jubilee’.”

PETITIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

Councillor Willmott presented a petition with 128 signatures in the following terms:

“The members of Rushey Fields Residents Association and the residents of Rushey Mead and Belgrave would like to request Leicester City Council to have an outside gym and walking track in Rushey Mead Park, similar to that at Spinney Hill Park.”

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

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

None received.

QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

Question 1 – Councillor Dr. Barton:  Thank you Lord Mayor. “Constituents are concerned that the government is ending the Independent Living Fund that helps people with disabilities to live independently.  Provision will become the responsibility of local authorities.  How will Leicester City Council be able to resource and deliver this and support people with disabilities to continue living independent lives in the future?”

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Patel to reply.

Councillor Patel:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Barton for asking that question.  Following a pause due to a legal challenge the Minister of State for Disabled People has now announced that the Independent Living Fund will formally close on 30^th June 2015 in about a year’s time, and local authorities will take on the responsibility for meeting the care and support needs of this group of people.  The ILF will transfer the funding being paid to people at the point of this change to the Council.  Going forward the Council will meet their eligible needs of these individuals as we do with all other disabled people in the city with a focus on promoting their independence.  Thank you.

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Barton have you got a supplementary?

Councillor Barton:  Yes, a supplementary question.  Can we assure people in Leicester that people with disabilities will not be made to suffer hardship from this which for a lot of people fear is another cut by the government and attack on the most vulnerable.

Councillor Patel:  I think we will work very hard to try and make sure that those who meet, who fulfil the eligibility criteria that we will be serving them just like we serve other disabled people.  But the ILF at the moment are reviewing themselves the funding they give to the clients before they confirm the level of transfers to the Council.  So really at this moment in time we are not sure how much money is going to be transferred over to us and what their review will come out with.  The Council will be required to complete our own assessment of needs going forward for those people and therefore at this stage it is really not clear whether we will receive adequate funding and whether we will be able to monitor this as we move forward. We intend to but we can’t make or give any undertakings or make any promises at this stage.  Additionally we are not able to guarantee that the government’s decision to close the scheme will not result in some people having a reduced service and that is because of the review that they are doing.  The scheme has given a small number of people funding to meet a wide range of needs.  Not all of these needs will be assessed as eligible needs in line with the Council’s threshold for services and therefore would not be supported by the Council funding into the future.  However, we are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

6.1       Adoption of Revised Core Strategy Policies for New Office    Development and Employment and Training Opportunities.

6.2       Call-In of Executive Decision – Supporting the Voluntary and          Community Sector (VCS) – Outcome of Consultation and Future      Options.

Adoption of Revised Core Strategy Policies for New Office Development and Employment and Training Opportunities

The City Mayor submitted a report to Council which gave details of revised wording which aimed to support the delivery of the Economic Action Plan.  This was proposed through allowing, in principal, larger offices anywhere within the City Centre rather than concentrated in the New Business Quarter and require employment and training opportunities to be provided as a contractual obligation by the construction sector. 

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

10.       That Council formally adopts the changes to the Core Strategy as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report

Call-In of Executive Decision – Review of Community and Voluntary Sector

It was In accordance with Rule 12 of the City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules, it was noted that Councillors Osman (Proposer), Dawood, Kitterick, Newcombe and Willmott (seconder) had objected to the decision of the City Mayor of 27 May 2014 with regard to the above matter under the grounds that:.

“In view of the cross departmental corporate nature of our relationship with the VCS and the issue of Community Cohesion, that the Overview Select Committee should review and scrutinise this decision by way of a call-in’.”

A copy of the original decision together with the Executive report and minute of the Overview Select Committee on 12 June 2014 which had considered the matter had been sent to Members and were available at the meeting.

Moved by Councillor Dawood, seconded by Councillor Waddington and carried:

11.       That Council ask the City Mayor to reconsider his decision on VCS funding.

7.1       Corporate Compensation Policy

Corporate Compensation Policy

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report which sought the agreement of Council to the proposed Policy which sought to offer appropriate redress for actions taken by officers where injustice had been caused.

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

12.     That Council approve the policy as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

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

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Clayton to and carried:

13.       That:

1)         Councillor Dr Moore be appointed as Vice Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee;

2)         That the size of the Audit and Risk Committee be increased by two majority group Members; and

3)         That the Licensing Committee be re-named the Licensing and Public Safety Committee.

None.

None.

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The Lord Mayor noted that the Highfields Festival was to be held on 21 June and that all Members were invited and would be welcome.

The Lord Mayor declared the meeting closed at 8.09pm.