To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors PA Andrews, PE  Crockett and FM Norman, signatories to the call-in.

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

None.

To receive any declarations of interest by members.

Agenda item 7: Call-in of cabinet member decision in respect of charity shop waste disposal.

Councillor ACR Chappell declared an interest (category: other) because he had received training from St Michael’s hospice.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2017.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Details of the scheme and related guidance are available here:

 https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/info/200148/your_council/61/get_involved

Please submit questions to councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

The deadline for the receipt of questions is Tuesday 28 November 2017 at 5.00 pm.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

None.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5.00 pm on Tuesday 28 November 2017.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

Please submit questions to councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

None.

To consider the call-in of the decision of the cabinet member contracts and assets regarding changes to the policy on charity shop waste disposal.

The Committee considered the call-in of the decision of the cabinet member contracts and assets regarding changes to the policy on charity shop waste disposal.

Charity shops were currently provided with permits to tip that allowed them to deposit waste at the council’s expense.  The changes proposed would introduce a limit on the amount of waste deposited by charity shops at the council’s expense.

The decision had been called in accordance with the Scrutiny Rules at part 4 section 5 of the constitution by the following 7 Councillors:  Councillors PP Marsh, JM Bartlett, AJW Powers, PA Andrews, PE Crockett, FM Norman and ACR Chappell.  The grounds for the call in were: that there there was inadequate evidence on which to base a decision and that not all relevant matters had been fully taken into account; and that the decision was disproportionate to the desired outcome.

The Chairman outlined the protocol for the conduct of the meeting a copy of which had been circulated to all members.

Cabinet Member - summary of his decision.

Councillor H Bramer – cabinet member – contracts and assets provided a brief summary of his decision.  He made the following principal points:

·        The decision sought to balance the good works the charity shops did with the cost to the Council of unlimited waste disposal.

·        Some 800 tipping permits were issued in 2016/17 to charity shops with 400 tonnes of waste deposited at a cost to the council of £50k.

·        The Council had no legal obligation to provide places for charity shops to dispose of waste for free.  The proposal offered continued support at a level that was considered to be reasonable and affordable.  It imposed a limit of between 12-48 permits a year to charities based on the scale of operation in Herefordshire.

·        The policy reflected the benefit to the council of the recycling work charities did.

·        Free disposal encouraged charity shops to accept poor quality materials from house clearances.  It was important charities improved quality control to manage waste better.

·        The implementation of the changes was proposed to be phased in over 3 years which would allow organisations time to adjust to the new arrangements.

Presentation of Reasons for the Call-in

Councillor Marsh as the lead call in member spoke on the call-in followed by Councillors Bartlett, Powers and Chappell. A short statement was read out on behalf Councillor Andrews.  The following principal points were made:

·        The council’s corporate plan referred to encouraging and supporting even more local services to be run by communities themselves, reducing demand on statutory services and that the council recognises that it is in the unique position of acting as a hub for the public sector, the private sector and the 3rd sector and accepts the responsibility to work with our partners to provide leadership.  It was questioned whether the decision on charity shop waste disposal demonstrated such support or leadership.

·        The proposal would affect two charities: St Michael’s Hospice and the British Heart Foundation.  St Michael’s was supported by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

The next scheduled meeting is 2.00 pm on Tuesday 5 December 2017.

Monday 11 December 2017 at 10.30 am.