Agenda and minutes

Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Lord Mayor noted that due to the late hour there would not be time for the City Mayor to give the presentation concerning ‘Connecting Leicester’ which had been indicated on the agenda.  However Mr Mark Radymski was invited to address the Chamber in relation to concerning his members of Council concerning a petition submitted in the following terms: “We the undersigned petition the Council to review and resolve the Traffic Chaos/Congestion caused by the various improvements made to our city centre and surrounding area roads”.

Following his address the City Mayor responded to the points raised.

The Lord Mayor and Council thanked Ella Connelly for her work prior in organising a bake sale to aid Comic Relief prior to the start of the earlier meeting which had raised £121.

The Lord Mayor invited the Monitoring Officer to brief Council in respect of declarations regarding item 5.1 on the agenda ‘Pay Policy Statement 2015/16’.

The Monitoring Officer reminded Council that the report did not set the pay of the Council officers referred to within it and that it only comments on the scale of pay to the most senior officers and the ratio of pay between the most highly paid staff and the median pay of the wider workforce.  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 as Council was only being asked to approve a statement providing commentary on pay it was unlikely that a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) or Prejudicial Other Disclosable Interest (ODI) would be triggered as pay and policy is not affected by the report.  However the Monitoring Officer reminded Members that was just his advice and the judgement was for each individual Member to make.  If a DPI or Prejudicial ODI was declared the Member would need to leave the room.

Councillor Senior declared an interest in item 5.1 on the agenda as a close acquaintance was mentioned in the report. and stated that she would leave the room for the duration of this item.

Councillor Westley declared an Other Disclosable Interest’ in item 3 on the agenda as he lived in the street which was referred to in the petition he was to present.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd January are available to view at: http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk:8071/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=81&MId=6579&Ver=4. Copies are also available from Democratic Support on (0116) 454 6352 or Committees@leicester.gov.uk.

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

34.       That the minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 22 January 2015, a copy having been sent to each Member of the Council, be taken as read and that they be approved as a correct record.

PETITIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

Councillor Westley presented a petition in the following terms:

“We the undersigned call on the City Council Highways Department and Buswell Lodge School to take measures to stop parking and irresponsible driving on pavements and on the street of Beauville Drive; to protect local residents and school children from the risk of being hurt or fatally injured.”

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

Lord Mayor:  Question 1, Councillor Aqbany.

Councillor Aqbany:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  “Resulting from the Government’s enhanced discount for ‘Right to Buy’ of Council accommodation, do we know how many properties have been disposed and how much income has come into the City Council?”

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Connelly.

Councillor Connelly:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  Thank you Councillor Aqbany for the question.  The maximum Right to Buy discount increased in April 2012 from £34,000 to £75,000. It rose again in April 2014 to £77,000 in line with inflation.  Between April 2012 and December 2014 the Council, under the Right to Buy scheme, sold 456 homes generating total useable capital receipt to the Council of £8.3m.  Of this £6.7m must be used to finance one-for-one replacement social housing, either new build by the Council or grants to the housing associations.  However, the cost of building a new property is on average £120,000 and sale of our Right to Buy receipts contributes somewhere between £20,000-£30,000 towards that cost, and we as an authority have to make up the difference.  The remaining £1.6m is available to the corporate capital programme and we use it towards funding the disabled facilities grant scheme. 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Aqbany have you got a supplementary?

Councillor Aqbany:  No, Lord Mayor no I think a thorough answer has been given.  Thanks.   

Lord Mayor:  Thank you very much.  Question 2, Councillor Aqbany.

Councillor Aqbany:   Thank you Lord Mayor.  “Do we know how many premises the Council has disposed of for £1 and also by tender or auction and how much has been raised by this?”

Councillor Connelly:   Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you to Councillor Aqbany for the question.  To date in 2014/15 the Council has completed the sale of 4 properties for £1, these being 58 Earl Howe Street to the Pakistani Youth and Community Association; two sites for affordable housing at Benbow Rise and Hamlin Road; and a site for supported living development at Manor Farm.  Sales totalling £3,264,500 were achieved at auction in November.  These properties being 72 Belgrave Road, Nuffield House, Elizabeth House and the Douglas Bader Centre.  We have also completed the sale of Cooper House and Abbey House with deferred capital receipts.

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Aqbany have you got a supplementary?

Councillor Aqbany:  No, I am happy with the response.

Lord Mayor:  Thank you very much Councillor Aqbany.  Councillor Chaplin.

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  I would like to ask the Assistant Mayor for Adult Social Care - “Through the consultation process to review funding for the Adhar project, which supports young carers and their parents, what measures were taken to properly consult with the young carers, some of whom are as young as eight years old”?

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Patel.

Councillor Patel:   Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Chaplin for that question.  The original historic contract with Adhar project was for the provision of support for a range of adult  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

5.1 Leicester City Council Pay Policy Statement 2015/16

PAY POLICY STATEMENT 2015/16

Having declared a Prejudicial Other Disclosable Interest Councillor Senior left the meeting for the duration of the item.

A report of the Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance was considered which gave details of the Pay Policy Statement.  The publication of a Statement was required by the Localism Act 2011 and must be approved by full Council by 1 April each year.

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

35.       That Council approves the Pay Policy Statement for 2015/16.

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

None.

None received.

None.

The Lord Mayor noted that this was the last meeting before the forthcoming elections and wished good luck to all those Members seeking re-election.

The City Mayor and Council expressed their thanks to the Lord Mayor for his work in chairing Council meetings and for his work as first citizen in what had been a very successful Mayoral year.

The meeting closed at 9.19pm.