Agenda and minutes

Covid19 – Coronavirus

The Lord Mayor thanked those present for their attendance. She noted that the city was entering a period of uncertainty and worry but said that it was important that the Council worked together to serve the city.

The Lord Mayor commented that it was understandable that there were absences from the meeting under the circumstances, but apologies for absence would be noted. She further commented on the need for Councillors to lead by example and follow the guidance available at the current time, but also supported Councillors taking steps to protect themselves and their families. She urged people to continue to follow the recommended advice regarding handwashing, covering coughs & sneezes and self-isolating if necessary.

Councillors John Thomas and Kulwinder Singh-Johal

The Lord Mayor noted that both councillors had recently been in hospital due to illness. She sent best wishes to both and hoped for a quick recovery.

Apologies for absence

The Lord Mayor noted that it was not usual practice to take apologies at Council meetings, but under the circumstances she had agreed to do so for this meeting. Apologies were received from the following Councillors:

Cllr Aldred, Cllr Cank, Cllr Cassidy, Cllr Cutkelvin, Cllr Dawood, Cllr Dempster, Cllr Joel, Cllr Joshi, Cllr O’Donnell, Cllr Patel, Cllr Pickering, Cllr Rahman, Cllr Russell, Cllr Sangster, Cllr Solanki, Cllr Shelton, Cllr Waddington and Cllr Westley.

Fire & Emergency Evacuation Procedure

The Lord Mayor reminded all present of the evacuation procedures as detailed on the agenda for the meeting.

The Lord Mayor invited Members to declare any interests they might have in the business on the agenda, not already declared on their register of interests.

There were no declarations.

The minutes of the following meetings are available to view at the links below:

23 January 2020 – Council Meeting

19 February 2020 – Special Meeting to Confer the Title of Honorary Alderman

19 February 2020 – Budget Council Meeting

19 February 2020 – Special Meeting Draft Local Plan

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

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

That the minutes of the meetings held on 23 January 2020, 19 February 2020 (Special Meeting to Confer the Title of Honorary Alderman), 19 February 2020 (Budget Council Meeting) and 19 February 2020 (Special Meeting Draft Local Plan), having been circulated to each Member of the Council, be taken as read and that each be approved as a correct record.”

The Lord Mayor invited the City Mayor to make a statement:

The City Mayor spoke in relation to the developing Coronavirus situation. He acknowledged that the world was now gaining a better understanding of the situation it faced with regards to the Coronavirus. He understood that there would be fear and anxiety but confirmed that the Council was doing all it could to keep people safe. He noted that the small number of confirmed cases was unlikely to reflect the real situation, but reflected that most cases would recover fully, but there would sadly be some that did not. Plans to respond to the pandemic had been drawn up and were now being activated as well as daily briefings being received from a range of experts and partners including Public Health England and the Government.

Council services would be kept under constant review and community support would be prioritised as well as basic services, such as waste would be maintained. There would be ongoing contact with the media and staff to make people aware of what is happening. He did however acknowledge that the Council’s role to serve and protect would be tested, but consideration would be given to deploying staff differently to maintain services, particularly those services which support the vulnerable. Protection of the vulnerable would be a guiding theme including no evictions from Council housing and increasing hardship and other financial support schemes.

The Council would work in partnership with other agencies, groups and charities, as well Councillors being able to access the Community Mobilisation fund. Individuals will no doubt help where they can or could ask for help if they needed it. The City Mayor also paid tribute to the BBC and Leicester Mercury for providing high quality information and a counterbalance to some of the irresponsible stories on social media.

The City Mayor confirmed that he, his fellow Councillors and Council Officers would do their best for the City. He was confident that Leicester would come together to support each other. He also paid tribute to NHS and care services, commenting that they deserved our gratitude. He finally gave assurance that people would be fully supported by the City Council.

-           Presented by Members of the Public

-           Presented by Councillors

-           Petitions to be debated

Petitions from members of the public

Mr Anthony Matthew to presented a petition with 98 valid signatures in the following terms:-

We the undersigned residents of Leicester, call on Leicester City Council to:

·                Declare its support for the United Nations treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). When ratified this treaty will result in the legal prohibition of developing, testing and using nuclear weapons, in the same way landmines, chemical and biological weapons have been successfully banned.

·                Use all diplomatic avenues possible to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons, including lobbying the British government to sign the TPNW, and cancelling the replacement of Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system.

Petitions from Councillors

There were no petitions from Councillors.

Under Council Procedure Rule 13a the aforementioned petition was referred to the Monitoring Officer for consideration and action as appropriate. 

The following question was asked by a Member of the public and details of who responded are included below. The full details of questions and the responses can be viewed on the webcast of the meeting on the Council’s website at:

Council - Thursday, 19th March 2020 at 5:00pm - Webcasts of Meetings (public-i.tv)

We maintain a comprehensive library of webcast Council meetings. The webcast for this meeting will remain live on the website until 18^th March 2021, and after this date a copy can be requested from the Democratic Support Team by contacting (0116) 454 6350 or at committees@leicester.gov.uk.

For your convenience, a link to the question and response are embedded after the question below.

Questions from Members of the Public

Mr Anthony Matthew:-

Given the significant threat posed by nuclear weapons, the worrying global position on the matter and the determination of the UK government to replace Trident, would the City Council support agreeing a resolution to this effect?

City Mayor replied.

Link to question from Mr. Matthew

Questions from Councillors

There were no questions from Councillors.

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

That:

a)         Council approves the Pay Policy Statement for 2020/21 set out in Appendix A of the report; and

b)         Council notes the Gender Pay Gap Report for 2019 as set out in Appendix B of the report.

Moved by Assistant City Mayor Councillor Myers, seconded by Councillor Pantling and carried:

That the new Council Procedure Rules which form part 4G of the Constitution as attached at Appendix A to the report be approved, subject to the thresholds for goods and services in paragraph 13.1 being amended from £0-£10,000 to £0 - £20,000 for small contracts and from £10,000.01 - £100,000.00 to £20,000.01 to £100,000.00 for medium contracts.

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

That a Members Allowance Scheme for the municipal year 2020-2021 comprising the 2019-2020 Scheme with indexing of allowances in line with IRP report approved at Council in March 2016, be made and the recommendations contained in the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (March 2020) be considered ata future Council meeting.

-        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 5.32pm.