To elect the Chairman of the Council.

The Vice Chairman, Councillor JB Williams called for nominations to the office of Chairman.  Councillor RH Smith proposed Councillor J Stone and Councillor TM James seconded the nomination.

RESOLVED:            That Councillor J Stone, be elected Chairman of the Council until the annual meeting of Council in May 2010.

Councillor Stone signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and officiated in the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.

The Very Reverend Michael Tavinor, Dean of Hereford, led the Council in prayer.

The Chairman extended a warm welcome to the county’s Lord Lieutenant, Lady Darnley, who was in attendance, as were members of the County’s Youth Council and Children’s Trust Shadow Board who had earlier presented the Chairman with a petition.  During the meeting former Councillor and past Chairman John Edwards was also welcomed.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies had been received from Councillors DJ Benjamin, B Durkin, DW Greenow, G Powell and SJ Robertson.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

GUIDANCE ON DECLARING PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AT MEETINGS

The Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct requires Councillors to declare against an Agenda item(s) the nature of an interest and whether the interest is personal or prejudicial.  Councillors have to decide first whether or not they have a personal interest in the matter under discussion.  They will then have to decide whether that personal interest is also prejudicial.

A personal interest is an interest that affects the Councillor more than most other people in the area.  People in the area include those who live, work or have property in the area of the Council.  Councillors will also have a personal interest if their partner, relative or a close friend, or an organisation that they or the member works for, is affected more than other people in the area.  If they do have a personal interest, they must declare it but can stay and take part and vote in the meeting. 

Whether an interest is prejudicial is a matter of judgement for each Councillor.  What Councillors have to do is ask themselves whether a member of the public – if he or she knew all the facts – would think that the Councillor’s interest was so important that their decision would be affected by it.  If a Councillor has a prejudicial interest then they must declare what that interest is and leave the meeting room.

Councillors WU Attfield, AM Toon and AE Gray declared personal interests in item 11 as members of Herefordshire Housing.

Councillor RJ Phillips declared a personal interest in relation to item 13, paragraph 8.4 ‘Response to the Review of Community Engagement in Community Safety and Drugs Partnership’.

To appoint the Vice-Chairman of the Council

The Chairman called for nominations to the office of Vice-Chairman. 

Councillor RI Matthews proposed Councillor JB Williams and Councillor ACR Chappell seconded the nomination.

RESOLVED:   That Councillor JB Williams be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Council until the annual meeting in May 2010.

Councillor JB Williams signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2009.

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2009 were approved as an accurate record.

To appoint the Leader of the Council.

Councillor JP French proposed Councillor RJ Phillips as Leader of the Council and the nomination was seconded by Councillor PJ Watts.

RESOLVED:   That Councillor RJ Phillips be appointed Leader of the Council until the annual meeting in May 2010.

Councillors MD Lloyd-Hayes and GFM Dawe requested that their objection to this nomination be formally recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

The Leader thanked members for his re-election and emphasised that as a Herefordian born and bred he regarded public service as an honour and was privileged to be the Council’s leader.  The importance that public service played in the quality of life of the county’s residents was emphasised and it was acknowledged that the strengths of the county lay with its communities and its spectacular landscape, whilst its challenges were based around the need to deliver a wide range of services in a large geographically dispersed county.

The Leader stated that 2008 had been a significant year, not least the impact of the international monetary markets which would continue to have a profound effect on us all for many years, both as an authority in service delivery and to the citizens of the county.

A general election would need to be called within the next year, and it was expected that there would be tougher times ahead for public services whichever political party would be in Government.  It was essential that there was honesty with the population of Herefordshire as to the possible impact of such challenges and that they be assured that the Council was working hard to prepare to meet these challenges, which would include Members having to make difficult decisions at times.  The Leader looked forward to a challenging yet rewarding year.

Councillor Phillips advised Council that he had appointed Councillor JP French as Deputy Leader of the Council and confirmed the names of his other cabinet members, which would remain as in 2008/09.

To exercise those powers reserved to Council at its Annual Meeting:

(a)   To make appointments to the positions of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmanships to committees and other offices.

(b)   To establish the allocation of seats to political groups based on proportionality as defined by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 giving effect also to Section 15(5)b of the Act which provides that where the majority of seats on an authority are held by one political group, that group shall have a majority on all bodies to which appointments are made.

(c)   To make arrangements for such appointments to committees and other bodies as may be necessary.

Please note that the Council may be asked under this item to approve alternative arrangements to strict political proportionality for appointments to Committees and other bodies in accordance with Regulation 20 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990.

The Leader presented the report and referred Members to the appendices which had been circulated immediately prior to the start of the meeting.

The proposed changes to some of the chairmanships were highlighted and a warm tribute was paid to both Councillors JK Swinburne and SJ Robertson who were standing down from chairing scrutiny committees for their leadership in challenging and sensitive areas.  Councillor WU Attfield’s work and wisdom was also acknowledged as she proposed to stand down from her Vice Chair’s position whilst remaining a member on a scrutiny committee.  In relation to the Standards Committee, in order to assist with the increasing demands on Members of this Committee, it was proposed to nominate two additional Members, Councillors JE Pemberton and AE Gray, who would be co-opted to fulfil the role as and when required.

In response to a question from Councillor MAF Hubbard who sought clarification of those positions which required the suspension of proportionality rules, the Leader stated that discussions had been held with group leaders at their meeting on 7 May 2009.  The Leader advised Council that the Strategic Monitoring Committee was not proportionate as it provided a greater number of seats to parties outside the administration and stated that should there be a need to comply with strict proportionality this situation would change. 

Councillor GFM Dawe, Leader of the Alliance Group advised Council that neither he nor the Labour Group Leader had been present at the group leaders meeting mentioned.  He therefore considered that there had not been an open discussion and stated that he would vote to reject the recommendations.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor TM James, reminded Council that the partial suspension of the rules on proportionality had been in place and supported over several administrations and, by gifting a greater proportion of posts to opposition groups, the Council was well regarded.  He expressed the view that Council needed to retain consistency of committee membership as far as was possible for the duration of a four-year term.  Councillor James also stated that whilst it may have been beneficial had the appendices been circulated a day or two earlier, it was unlikely that earlier circulation would have made a difference to the debate.

Councillor MD Lloyd Hayes stated that she would oppose the recommendations.  She was concerned that the Alliance Group was not represented on the Strategic Monitoring Committee and additionally informed Council that she would be seeking membership of a scrutiny committee other than Adult Social Care and Health, on which she had served for nine years.

Councillor AM Toon stated that there was a perception that the Alliance Group was cut out of positions within the authority and requested that an alternative process of arranging appointments to offices be considered.

The Chairman called for a vote on the recommendations, which was not supported nem com and therefore not approved.  Councillors GFM Dawe and MD Lloyd Hayes requested that their votes against the recommendations be formally noted in the minutes.

Following  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To receive the Chairman's announcements and petitions from members of the public.

The Chairman informed Council that Councillor GA Powell was currently in hospital and wished her a speedy recovery.  He passed on Councillor Powell’s thanks for the many messages and cards received from fellow Members.

Pupils from John Masefield High School who had taken part in the local democracy project ‘I’m a Councillor Get Me Out of Here’ had tea with the Chairman and other Councillors.

Members were advised of the fundraising activities of The Goodwill Group, volunteers from both the Council and PCT, who had since the autumn been raising money for Help the Heroes and who continued to do so even though their £1,000 target has been met.  Congratulations were additionally extended to the Chief Executive on his completion of Hereford’s half marathon which was in aid of St Michael’s Hospice, and to all who took part.  The Chairman announced that he would be undertaking a sponsored swim during the year which would be held in all four of the county’s leisure pools.

Together with other Members, the Chairman had the opportunity to tour the new facility, ThePoint4, at the Royal National College for the Blind, an excellent sports and complementary therapy centre which would feature as a venue in the 2010 Blind Football Word Cup.  All Members were encouraged to visit the facilities.

Herefordshire Council would be supporting the Fly the Armed Forces Flag initiative and the flag would be raised and flown from the Shire Hall from Monday 22 June, at an event with representatives of the armed forces present.  The flag would remain flying until 27 June.  All were welcome to attend the short, but important ceremony on 22 June.

1^st the Queen’s Dragoon Guards had been granted permission to parade through Hereford City on 14 July to mark their homecoming back from Afghanistan.  This parade would also mark Herefordshire’s welcome back to the Guards.  The regiment would have stands in High Town and would be visiting various schools and colleges. 

Councillor SPA Daniels was congratulated on her recent appointment as Mayor of Hereford City.

In closing, the Chairman stated that he looked forward to seeing Members in the Town Hall following the meeting for the annual Chairman’s lunch.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Copies of all public questions, received by the deadline, with the written answers were distributed prior to the commencement of the meeting.  The Chairman advised Council that following the Council’s adoption earlier in the meeting of changes to questions from Members of the Public that each Member of the public who had lodged a written question was permitted to ask one supplementary question, should they so wish.  Supplementary  questions were asked by Mr Clay, Ms Evans, Mr Barton and Mr Phelps.  A copy of the public questions and written answers together with the supplementary questions and answers are attached as Appendix 1 to the minutes.

To receive any written questions from Councillors.

Questions from Councillor WLS Bowen to the Cabinet Member Resources.

1.1       Do you agree that Herefordshire Councils’ efforts to establish a baseline for energy use and to discover the whereabouts of its various electricity, gas and water meters has been agonisingly and pathetically slow?

1.1.2    Why has it taken so long to achieve this relatively simple, yet vital objective and when will this objective be achieved?

Answer from Councillor H Bramer, Cabinet Member Resources

1.1       No.

1.1.2    This is not a simple task but a complex process involving almost 700 individual meters for electricity, gas and water. The co-operation of the utility companies is required to identify which meter location relates to which invoice received and even then in order to provide a completely accurate baseline, all 700 meters would have to be read at the same time. This cannot be done practically, unless by remote electronic reading. An added complication is that  sites using LPG or fuel oil do not have consumption meters.

That said, we are able to provide a reasonably robust baseline of the Council's CO2 emissions, which last year perty were approximately 14,500 tonnes from property. This is the Council's baseline position against which we will measure our reduction targets.

We are continuing to improve our ability to provide accurate and up to date information both in respect of the council’s own property and through working with key partners such as HALO.

Supplementary question from Councillor WLS Bowen

Eight years was a long time in which to achieve baseline information – might the Council use Halo to achieve a more rapid answer?

Councillor H Bramer, Cabinet Member for Resources responded by acknowledging that eight years was a long time, however this was due to the need for the base lines to be read at the same time.  The authority was now working hard to progress this work.

Questions from Councillor WLS Bowen to the Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

1.2       PPS22 was issued in 2004, allowing Authorities to mandate on site renewable energy production (typically 10%) as a condition of building development.  Why doesn’t Herefordshire make this demand of all new development?

1.2.1    How soon can this be incorporated into Herefordshire’s planning policies?

Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis, Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

1.2       The advice in PPS22 has been partly superseded by the advice in the Supplement to PPS1 on “Planning and Climate Change” which was published in December 2007.  This states, in paragraph 32:-

“…planning authorities should not require local approaches for a building’s environmental performance on matters relating to construction techniques, building fabrics, products, fittings or finishes, or for measuring a building’s performance unless for reasons of landscape or townscape.”

This amounts to saying that the “Merton Rule” of requiring a 10% mandate of renewable energy production for new buildings has fallen out of favour with the government.

Furthermore, the equivalent policy in the Regional Spatial Strategy is going to be challenged at the Examination in Public and may  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To consider any Notices of Motion.

Group Leaders Councillors: RJ Phillips (Conservative), RI Matthews (Independents), TM James (Liberal Democrats), ACR Chappell (Labour), and GFM Dawe (Alliance) submitted the following notice of motion as a matter of urgency.

“That this Council applauds the ‘No Prejudice in Herefordshire’ campaign and calls for all practical steps to be taken to promote its message as widely as possible.

The Council believes that the great majority of Herefordshire people wish to live in peaceful and harmonious communities.  We deplore all attempts to foster bigotry and prejudice within the county and condemn those who seek to exploit human tragedies for political ends.

As democratically elected representatives from various diverse political traditions, we believe that it will be a terrible prospect if those pursuing politics based on racial and ethnic hatred were to gain any foothold in the region.

We recommend that our communications and diversity staff promote this motion across our county.”

The Chairman will rule whether the motion is urgent.

The Chairman introduced this item by informing Members that as Chairman he had been pleased to attend an event in High Town during Easter arranged by the Youth Council and Children’s Trust Shadow Board which publicised the ‘No prejudice in HEREfordshire’ campaign.  He also thanked the members of the Youth Council and Children’s Trust Shadow Board for being in attendance to hear this important issue being debated at Council.

The Chairman ruled the notice of motion as outlined in the agenda be treated as urgent. 

Councillor ACR Chappell, Leader of the Labour Group advised Members that the notice of motion had been supported and signed by all the Group Leaders.  The motion was seconded by Councillor JP French Cabinet Member Corporate and Customer Services and Human Resources. 

Councillor ACR Chappell stated that this was an important notice of motion for consideration by Council, though in effect it should not be an issue for debate.  Members were advised that the purpose of bigotry and racism was to destroy harmonious communities and to spread poison, and this point was illustrated by reference to explicit racist language used by a 7 year old child in a playground, the presumption being that such words had been picked as a result of language used by the child’s parents.

Councillor Chappell emphasised that not all individuals held prejudicial views and commended the young people for leading the campaign for No Prejudice in HEREfordshire.

In debunking myths, Councillor Chappell emphasised that no one received preferential treatment from social landlords, jobs were given on merit, and only those entitled to receive benefits were provided with such support.  It was also highlighted that majority of crime in Herefordshire was committed by Herefordians.

Concerns had been expressed to Councillor Chappell from staff of the Hereford Times following a directive from their parent company Newsquest regarding the placing of an advert in the Hereford Times which called for ‘British jobs for British workers’.  It was emphasised that the local staff knew their locality well and a letter was read out from a Hereford Times employee who outlined examples of the horrors of prejudice which he had witnessed when younger.

Councillor Chappell stated that Herefordshire had a long history of welcoming those of different cultures, politics, religion and creed, which included the Marion Fathers, Poles (before and after the second world war), Hungarians during the 18^th century, Italians prisoners of war and people from Southern Asia.  It was with shame that Councillor Chappell informed Members that whilst a building in the South Wye area was being used as a mosque, he had been asked not to disclose its location from fear of reprisals.  All people, be they friends, neighbours, work colleagues deserved equal courtesy and respect.

Herefordshire Council was taking a lead in this initiative and Councillor Chappell congratulated the young people and Council staff for the way the campaign has been organised, he additionally commended the Cabinet Member for her support.

Councillor Chappell sated that Members had responsibility to serve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 19 March, 2 April and 7 May 2009.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor RJ Phillips, presented the report of the meetings of Cabinet held on 19 March, 2 April and 7 May 2009.

Raising a point under paragraph 4.1 ‘Local Area Agreement Refresh’, Councillor AM Toon requested that the allocation of LAA lead organisations went beyond the PCT and Council to include and identify other partners.

Councillor GMF Dawe, Leader of the Alliance Group raised an objection on the Officer Accommodation Strategy Options Appraisal (paragraph 4.2) and stated that it was not clear where the £17million cost of office accommodation would derive from and asked how much the council tax charges would need to increase to deliver this.  He emphasised the need for the Council chamber and associated accommodation to be located in the heart of the city.

Councillor ACR Chappell stated that he was unhappy that, as currently proposed, the Council chamber would not be located within the Plough Lane site, although this provided an opportunity for the civic offices to be located in the centre of Hereford.  It was essential that the public had direct access to Council debates and decision making meetings, which would be more accessible in the heart of the city.

Councillor MD Lloyd Hayes advised members that she was informed through the press of the Council’s consideration regarding office accommodation and stated that she had not been formally notified that the issue would be discussed at Cabinet and would have wished to have been involved.  Councillor Lloyd Hayes expressed the view that the new office accommodation should be located within the Edgar Street Grid and asked whether the proposed joint arrangements between the council, central library, PCT and Police had been abandoned.  An invitation was issued to the Leader by Councillor Lloyd Hayes to attend a public meeting in the Town Hall in which an open and transparent discussion could be had on the issue of office accommodation as it was considered that there had been a shortfall in democratic debate on this issue to date.

In responding the issues raised regarding the decision at Cabinet relating to the office accommodation strategy options appraisal, the Leader outlined to Members the process which had been undertaken and confirmed that the item had not been called in by scrutiny.  As part of the process, Members received notification of the item as part of the Cabinet agenda.  The Leader advised Members that the open report on office accommodation considered at Cabinet provided as much information as possible with the exempt report considered in confidential session referring to issues of a sensitive commercial nature, including the details of the purchase price.  All Members were reminded that they had a right to attend Cabinet and were invited to remain in the Chamber for confidential discussions.  The purchase of the Plough Lane site had been undertaken in line with Council policy and had been highlighted as a key decision on the forward plan, which could have been called in by scrutiny.  The Leader advised Council that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 12 and 20 February, 13 March and 3 April 2009.

Councillor TW Hunt presented the report of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 12 and 20 February, 13 March and 3 April 2009.

Responding to a question raised by Councillor JD Woodward regarding the wind turbines application, the Chairman of the Planning Committee advised that he would provide information outside of the meeting.

RESOLVED:      That the report of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 12 and 20 February, 13 March and 3 April 2009 be received.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meeting held on 17 April 2009.

Mr Robert Rogers, Chairman of the Standards Committee presented the report of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 17 April 2009 and raised to the attention of Members two specific issues.  In referring to the pre-election period and guidance for the 2009 European Elections, Mr Rogers emphasised that Members should not confuse political differences with possible breaches of the code of conduct and provided the following advice, ‘think, think again, and sleep on it’. 

The Chairman of the Standards Committee requested that Council considered the appointment of an additional external independent member, Mr Jake Bharier, the recruitment of whom had been undertaken following the Commission for Public Appointment good practice.  Mr Rogers additionally welcomed the appointments of Councillors J Pemberton and AE Gray who would provide support to the Standards Committee on an as and when required basis, and who would be provided with a detailed induction into their new roles.

In response to a question from Councillor RI Matthews regarding the relatively high number of complaints dealt with by Standards Committees compared with those in other local authorities, the Chairman of the Standards Committee stated that the majority of cases dealt with by the Committee were in respect of one specific local council.  It was emphasised that it was the responsibility of the Standards Committee to encourage best practice and much importance was attached to dealing with cases in an open and fair manner.

RESOLVED:     

(a) That the report of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 17 April 2009 be received.

                        (b) That Mr Jake Bharier be appointed as an Independent Member of the Standards Committee.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 16 February and 16 March 2009.

Councillor PJ Edwards presented the report of the meeting of the Strategic Monitoring Committee held on 16 February and 16 March 2009 and thanked the retiring Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Scrutiny Committees for their hard work and diligence over their period of office.  All Members were reminded that they had an open invitation to attend meetings of the Strategic Monitoring Committee.

RESOLVED:      That the report of the meetings of the Strategic Monitoring Committee held on 18 February and 16 March 2009 be received.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 3 February, 16 March, 7 April and 11 May 2009.

Councillor Brig. P Jones CBE presented the report of the meetings of the Regulatory Committee held on 3 February, 16 March, 7 April and 11 May 2009 and stated that seven sub committees had also been held during the reporting period.

RESOLVED:   That the report of the meetings of the Regulatory Committee held on 3 February, 16 March, 7 April and 11 May 2009 be received.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meeting held on 20 March 2009.

Councillor ACR Chappell presented the report of the meeting of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee held on 20 March 2009.

In response to a question from Councillor RH Smith regarding the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in which concerns were expressed at the extra cost which must be met and that of further potential implications of the Council’s net revenue capacity in this and future years, the Chairman of the Audit anc Governance Committee acknowledged that the Council was facing a significant task in ensuring that the accounts from 2010/2011 complied with the requirements of the IFRS, a statutory charge which affected all Councils.  The Chairman of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee additionally stated that his Committee was receiving regular updates on progress, which would be considered at the next meeting.  Members were advised that the Director of Resources was working with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance to arrange tailored training to Councillors on the issue which would be open to all Members to attend.

RESOLVED:         That the report of the meeting of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee held on 20 March 2009 be received.

To receive the report of the meeting of the West Mercia Police Authority held on 17 February 2009.  Councillor B Hunt has been nominated for the purpose of answering questions on the discharge of the functions of the Police Authority.

Councillor B Hunt presented the report of the West Mercia Police Authority held on 17 February 2009 and highlighted that the change in name from the West Midlands Constabulary West Midlands Police would be cost neutral as uniforms, livery, signs etc would be changed within the ongoing maintenance programme.  In referring to financial issues, Councillor Hunt advised Members that there would be an average increase of 16p per week on the council tax for Band D properties for the Police Authority and that monies from the Sustainable Service Development Fund would be used to close the funding gap.  Councillor Hunt stated that, as with other public sector organisations, the Police Authority would have to deal with future financial pressures and challenges.

Responding to questions raised by Members, Councillor Hunt acknowledged that the rise in council tax equated to 4.94% which had been required to maintain current service provision, which included police staff and Community Support Officers (CSO).  Members were advised that CSOs were not permitted to work after 10.00p.m, however possible changes to this situation were being considered.  Councillor Hunt advised Members that he had raised his concerns that the Police Authority had not held a special consultation evening in Herefordshire as part of its budget setting process, and advised Members that he had received the assurance of the Chairman of the Police Authority that this situation would not arise again. 

Responding to a question on Local Area Partnerships, Councillor Hunt stated that a local issue had arisen as it appeared that the Police Authority had been excluded from some partnership activities thus currently it was not able to carry out its full statutory duties.  The Leader advised Members that the Divisional Commander attended Herefordshire Partnership meetings, however Councillor Hunt stated that legislation stated that the Police Authority was the formal consultee and should therefore be fully engaged as a member of the Partnership.

RESOLVED:         That the report of the meeting of the West Mercia Police Authority held on 17 February 2009 be received.

Dates for Council meetings in the year 2009/10 are as follows:

24 July 2009

13 November 2009

05 February 2010

05 March 2010

28 May 2010 (Annual)

All meeting will be commence at 10.30 am and will be held at the Shire Hall, Hereford unless otherwise advised.

The dates for Council meetings in the 2009/10 municipal year were agreed as:

Friday, 24 July 2009
Friday, 13 November 2009
Friday, 5 February 2010
Friday, 5 March 2010
Friday, 28 May 2010