Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors B Adams,                 Mrs P A Bradwell OBE, M R Clarke, Mrs N F Clarke, K H Cooke, R A Gibson,             M A Griggs, A M Hall, A M Key, Mrs J E Killey, C E H Marfleet, R P H Reid,   P A Skinner and R Wootten.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

It was clarified that Councillor H Spratt was not present at the previous meeting, and should be removed from the list of those present at the meeting.

RESOLVED

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2021 be signed as a correct record, subject to the amendment to those present being noted.

The Chairman was delighted to be chairing a Full Council meeting in the Council Chamber for the first time since the initial lockdown and commented it was good to see members in these surroundings face-to face again, whilst still taking care to prevent the further spread of Covid-19.

As autumn approached, the Council continued to adapt to new ways of working.  The Chairman took the opportunity to thank officers for their efforts to ensure important council services continued to be delivered to the high standard that Lincolnshire residents had come to expect.

As restrictions were carefully being lifted, the Chairman was looking forward to being able to continue in his role as Chairman and meet the people of Lincolnshire.  He was particularly looking forward to being part of Lincolnshire Day on 1 October 2021, when for the first time, Lincolnshire would join with colleagues from North and North East Lincolnshire to celebrate its continued commitment to working together for the benefit of all residents.

On a sadder note, the Chairman reported the deaths of two former county councillors:

Reg Shore who represented the former Skellingthorpe and Hykeham South electoral division from May 2009 until his retirement in May 2017.  Between May 2013 and May 2017 he was Executive Councillor for Waste and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council.

And Mike Exton who represented the former Deeping St James electoral division from June 2009 until his retirement in May 2013.

A number of councillors paid tribute to the former County Councillors.

A complete itinerary of civic engagements, since the last meeting of this Council was available from the civic officer on request.

Statements by Members of the Executive had been circulated with the agenda.

Questions pursuant to Council Procedure rule 10.3 were asked and answered as follows:

It was moved, and seconded:

That the County Council was recommended to:

1.    Note the carry forwards set out in paragraph 1.16 to 1.18 of the report, which are made in line with Financial Regulations.

2.    Approve the use of underspend in excess of 1% referred to in paragraph 1.20 to 1.24 as follows:

a)    The transfer to reserves for "non-business as usual" activity described in paragraph 1.20.

b)    The creation of and transfer of £0.300m to a new earmarked reserve for Council Elections described in paragraph 1.21 and approval for underspends on election budgets to be transferred automatically to the said reserve in future years.

c)    The transfer of £2.200m to the Financial Volatility earmarked reserve as described in paragraph 1.223.

d)    The creation of and transfer of £2.304m to a new Coronavirus Recovery Reserve described in paragraph 1.24.

3.    Note the transfers to and from reserves carried out in 2020/21 and note the position of Earmarked Reserves as at 31 March 2021 as shown in Table F of this report.

4.    Note the position of the General Reserves as set out in paragraph 1.28 and Table G.

5.    Note the financial performance in 2020/21 as set out in Table H

6.    Approve the transfer of the remaining £1.8m in the Support to Business Reserve to the Financial Volatility Reserve as described in paragraph 1.25.

An amendment by the Labour Group was moved and seconded as follows:

Delete 'The transfer of £2.200m to the Financial Volatility earmarked reserve as described in paragraph 1.23' and replace with

Insert 'The Transfer of £2.2million to Children's Services to address unmet need in the current financial year for additional education provision for Children in Care, and to increase early intervention service for emotional wellbeing and mental health.

(NOTE: Councillor S R Parkin declared an interest in relation to educational tuition and left the meeting for the duration of the agenda item)

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

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried, and it was

RESOLVED

That the County Council:

1.    Note the carry forwards set out in paragraph 1.16 to 1.18 of the report, which are made in line with Financial Regulations.

2.    Approve the use of underspend in excess of 1% referred to in paragraph 1.20 to 1.24 as follows:

e)    The transfer to reserves for "non-business as usual" activity described in paragraph 1.20.

f)     The creation of and transfer of £0.300m to a new earmarked reserve for Council Elections described in paragraph 1.21 and approval for underspends on election budgets to be transferred automatically to the said reserve in future years.

g)    The transfer of £2.200m to the Financial Volatility earmarked reserve as described in paragraph 1.223.

h)   The creation of and transfer of £2.304m to a new Coronavirus Recovery Reserve described in paragraph 1.24.

3.    Note the transfers to and from reserves carried out in 2020/21 and note the position of Earmarked Reserves as at 31 March 2021 as shown  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

A report by the monitoring officer had been circulated.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

That the Council:

1.      Approves the amendments to the Council's Constitution set out in Appendix A of the report with the addition of the following paragraph at the end of section 3.05(ii):

"If the Leaders of the Groups coming together to form the Opposition do not nominate a Leader of the Opposition, full Council shall determine which of the said Group Leaders will be the Leader of the Opposition";

2.      Recognises the Labour Group and the Independent Group as the Opposition in accordance with Article 3.05 of the Constitution as amended in Appendix A of the report;

3.      Notes the nomination of Cllr Robert Parker as Leader of the Opposition for the period between 17 September 2021 and the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

A report by the Executive Director responsible for Democratic Services had been circulated.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

That Council approve the appointment of Councillor Ashley Baxter to the Lincolnshire Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education.

A report by the Executive Councillor responsible for Democratic Services had been circulated.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

That the Council appoints Heather Lee and Aileen Lucas to the Lincolnshire County Council Independent Remuneration Panel with immediate effect and appoints Tony Lawlor to the Panel with effect from 1 January 2022.

A report by the Statutory Scrutiny Officer had been circulated.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

That the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2020-21 be approved.

Motion by Councillor R B Parker

It was moved and seconded as follows:

This council notes that

• The 'uplift' to Universal Credit of £20 a week (£86.67 a month) is scheduled to end on 6 October 2021.
• The latest figures show that 5.9 million people in the United Kingdom receive Universal Credit, up from 3 million before the Covid pandemic.
• Nationally, the withdrawal of the 'uplift' will affect six in every ten single parent families and that 40% of people who depend on Universal Credit are in work.
• Here in Lincolnshire, there were 33,414 Universal Credit claimants in February 2020 (before the Covid outbreak) but by July 2021 there were 65,081 claimants; an increase of 95%.

I therefore move that:

This council calls on the Leader of the Council to write to the Prime Minister urging that the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift be maintained in the short term and until such time as the number of people eligible for the benefit is substantially reduced.

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

Motion by Councillor R Cleaver

It was moved and seconded as follows:

For many of our urban and village residents road safety and speeding through villages is the biggest concern. Seventy per cent of people think that 20 mph is plenty for residential areas. This is already in place in many areas up and down the country. 21m already live in a 20mph limit, but not in Lincolnshire. We recognise enforcement is not currently possible, but it does make the message clear to all and is seen by many residents as an important part in the armoury towards better road safety in built-up areas.

I therefore move that:

This Council calls on the Leader of Council to write to the Government calling for the power to make mandatory enforceable 20mph speed limits in residential or congested areas where they are needed.

This Council agrees to assess and appropriately support communities who want to design and put in place a twenty’s plenty campaign and adjust the Council’s Speed Policy accordingly.

An amendment was proposed and seconded as below:

This Council agrees to refer to the Council's Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee consideration of the Council's Speed Limit Policies in relation to the use of 20mph speed limits and how the Council can assess and appropriately support communities who want to design and put in place a twenty's plenty campaign and propose any changes to the Council's Speed Limit Policies accordingly.

The mover of the motion accepted this amendment and it became the substantive motion.  Upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

RESOLVED

This Council agrees to refer to the Council's Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee consideration of the Council's Speed Limit Policies in relation to the use of 20mph speed limits and how the Council can assess and appropriately support communities who want to design and put in place a twenty's plenty campaign and propose any changes to the Council's Speed Limit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.