Agenda item

Motion by Councillor Mrs M J Overton MBE

It was moved, and seconded that:

'This Council has a unique opportunity for better local democracy in England. Next year is the 800 centenary of the Magna Carta, the birth of our democracy. This Council can make this the year that marks the rebirth of local democracy for England.

It is proposed that:

(1)  This Council congratulates Scotland on the measure of devolution they have worked for and that is now proposed by the Smith Commission.

(2)    This Council calls Central Government and party leaders to recognise that local Government should be the vehicle for devolution in England. We call on Central Government to now negotiate with this Council, and other Councils in England using a similar non-party Commission to agree a comparable package of measures for local government in England to be enacted after the 2015 General Election.

(3)  This Council calls on the local Government leaders to ask all parties to meet to secure true independence for local government in England and an assignment of more powers to Local Government.'

During debate it was moved and seconded that the Council vote on the original motion.  Upon being put to the vote, the procedural motion to move to the vote was lost.  The debate continued.

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

Motion by Councillor C Pain

It was moved and seconded that:

'As a rural community Lincolnshire is not getting its fair share of government funding. We do not get any money for EU migrants and people living in caravans that are not registered here, who use our services. The issue of Scottish devolution needs addressing across the country. Here in Lincolnshire we get under £1534 per head per year, yet London gets £3433 and the North East get over £2801 per head per year. London is actually cash rich because they get a vast share of the business rates, parking charges and congestion charges towards their coffers.

The proposed 90 million pound worth of cuts to Lincolnshire County Council Budget, I believe is a cut too far and will affect the services the County Council provides. If you look at the attached graph of government funding it shows a continued dramatic reduction in all County Councils funding. In the years from 2017/2018 onwards it will mean a lot of Councils will be unsustainable.

One of the main problems Lincolnshire faces is its crumbling rural road network. The quality of Lincolnshire roads falls into the worst quartile of the country’s roads. The County Council constantly has to sort out insurance claims for damage to cars. This is a serious issue because 80% of fatalities and 60% of serious injuries occur on the rural road network. As one who drives around the roads every day, I feel this is an issue the County Council has to sort out. A good example is the Fodderdyke Bank between Friskney Eaudykes and Stickney, which is on par with a third world road.  This is the main route for emergency and gritting services in the local community. Multiple accidents have occurred on this stretch of road and it is full of potholes and dangerously uneven. To grasp the serious nature of the condition of Fodderdyke Bank, we have to spend 5.5 million pounds just to patch the potholes, this is using metal mesh to try and hold the structure in place.  To repair the road properly will cost 85 to 90 million pounds. This means my previous estimate of 600 million pounds to repair the roads in Lincolnshire is way under the actual real figure.

The 15 billion that the Government are investing in the Countries roads sounds a brilliant idea, but alas none is earmarked for Lincolnshire. You have to remember that our crumbling road network is inhibiting investments in the County. The Task and Finish Group report, “The Impact of Transportation on Maximising Economic Growth”, is currently being considered by the Council’s Executives. Let me state quite clearly it is the continuous underfunding of Lincolnshire roads for many years by the Government, that has caused this problem.

It is proposed that:

Lincolnshire County Council invites the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, to visit the County early in the New Year to address the issue of our poor road network.'

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

Motion by Councillor R G Fairman

It was moved and seconded that:

'There is increasing pressure on our communities to build houses, linked to actual and predicted population growth in the region. Some of this is from net inward migration of older people, some from immigration and some from increased birth rates, linked largely to immigration. We are all waiting for demographic projections from central government and after that housing and traffic projections, but we are hearing numbers such as an extra 20,000 people a year for the next ten years.

Linked to this is the situation where the local population is having imposed on it large scale housing development applications that it is now almost impossible to question or reject. Because of a manipulation of the law by central government last year most areas now have no local plan and need to build a new local plan. This cannot be started until government tell us what the demographic projections and housing growth projections are. Without a local plan the planning inspectorate almost automatically overturns rejections by local planning authorities, as evidenced in the last week by the approval of 300 houses at Langton Hill, against the wishes of the people of Horncastle, Horncastle Town Council and East Lindsey District Council. This development is to be on prime agricultural land, developers finding it easier and cheaper to build on this land.

Central Government require that we build 90,000 houses in Lincolnshire, at the same time putting out propaganda that ONLY 10% of the land is 'developed'  Bearing in mind that 40% of the land can neither be developed or farmed, THE COUNTRY IS FULL UP. The more houses you build, the worse it will get.

It is proposed that:

The Council must resist government pressureto build huge numbers of houses and cover good land with concrete and tarmac and recognise that there is no such thing as 'sustainable development'.'

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was lost.

Motion by Councillor J D Hough

It was moved and seconded:

'From the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement it is apparent that, following the failure of his economic policy, he will not clear the deficit in this Parliament, despite his promise to do so at the last election, and that his policy of cuts and austerity will continue if the Conservatives are elected again in May next year.

This Council has suffered millions of pounds in cuts since 2010, thousands of people have lost their jobs and front line services have been slashed. In 2010 the Conservative administration enthusiastically welcomed the cuts in Government support regardless of the damage to the people of our county. This contrasted sharply with their attitude under the Labour Government when they demanded more and more money through their ‘missing millions’ campaign.

Unlike Lincolnshire, other councils have resisted and done everything they could to minimise the cuts to services their residents need. In the run-up to the announcement of the 2015/16 financial settlement for local government, 120 Council Leaders joined together to write a letter expressing their opposition to another punishing round of ‘austerity’ cuts.  They clearly stated that local government could not afford more and more cuts in the future.

The letter was cross - party, supported by all the leaders of local government at the Local Government Association (LGA), including the Conservative Leader of South Holland District Council, together with council leaders across the country, including 40 conservative leaders. Among them was the Leader of Surrey County Council, who is the current Chairman of the County Council Network, an organisation in which the Leader of this Council plays an active part. In addition the Conservative Leaders of Rushcliffe Borough Council and Daventry District Council, colleagues of Councillor Hill on the Executive Board of East Midlands Councils also signed.

It was noticeable to all then that Councillor Martin Hill OBE, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, failed to sign the letter.

It is about time that this Council started to stand up to the Government and fight Lincolnshire’s corner, instead of acting as Osborne’s poodle. This Council and the people of Lincolnshire have had enough. It is not true that there is no alternative – there clearly is.

It is proposed that:

This Council therefore calls on the Leader of the Council, to change his position from one of enthusiasm for cuts to one where he makes clear to government that ‘more of the same ‘ for Lincolnshire cannot be an option.

 We call on him to join with his fellow Conservative council leaders and the LGA to pursue with the Chancellor a decent financial settlement for Lincolnshire with the same vigour as was shown by this Conservative led council when Labour was in government.'

During debate, the procedural motion to move to the vote was moved and seconded.  Upon being put to the vote, the procedural motion to move to the vote was carried.

Upon being put to the vote, the original motion was lost.