Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M G Allan, P Ashleigh-Morris, Mrs W Bowkett, M Brookes, N F Clarke, P E Coupland, M A Griggs, K E Lee, E W Strengiel, Dr M E Thompson, J Tyrell and R A Wright,

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

RESOLVED

          That the minutes of the meeting of the County Council held on 27 September 2022 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Chairman reported that since the last meeting of Council, she had been busy carrying out civic engagements around the county.  These included the celebration of Lincolnshire Day when Lincolnshire once again joined colleagues from North and North East Lincolnshire as Greater Lincolnshire, to celebrate this great county.

The Chairman was pleased to welcome Councillor Manzur Hasan to the Council after being formally elected as the county councillor for the Spalding West electoral division the previous night. 

The Chairman was delighted to welcome guests to her service of dedication which was held in her local church in Wyberton.  It was the Chairman’s wish to encourage people to visit her division and to showcase what was on offer in the south of the county.

The Remembrance Sunday service held in Lincoln Cathedral was a very poignant occasion and the Chairman was honoured to lay a poppy wreath on behalf of the County Council.

The Chairman paid tribute to Johnny Johnson, who had died recently at the age of 101, and was the last remaining member of the Dambusters.

It was with sadness that the Chairman reported the death of former Chairman of the County Council, Colin Helstrip.  Mr Helstrip was first elected to represent the Stamford South electoral division in May 1997.  Four years later he was elected to represent Stamford West, a seat he held until his retirement in June 2009.  Mr Helstrip was Chairman of the Council in 2006/2007.

The Chairman also reported the sad passing of former County Councillor Philip Keddell who represented the Stamford North electoral division from May 1993 until his retirement in May 2001.  Mr Keddell was also a former member of South Kesteven District Council and Stamford Town Council.

The Chairman invited members to stand for a minutes silence as a mark of respect.

Members were given an opportunity to pay tribute to both Mr Helstrip and Mr Keddell.

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

The Council received the Electoral Return for the by-election held for the Spalding West electoral division.

Statements by the Executive had been circulated with the agenda.

In accordance with Article 5.02 of the Council’s Constitution the Leader notified the Council, for the purposes of Part 3 (Responsibilities for Functions) the responsibilities of each portfolio holder, in particular, the amendment to the Portfolio of the Executive Councillor for Children’s Services, Procurement and Community Safety, which now included an additional responsibility for Migration.

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

A report by the Executive Director – Resources had been circulated.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

That the Council:

1.    Approves the changes to the composition and terms of reference of the Pensions Committee set out in Appendix B of the report.

2.    Approves the amendment of the Constitution to substitute the wording in respect of Pensions Committee set out in Appendix B of the report for the wording relation to that Committee currently contained in Article 7.2 of the Constitution.

3.    Approves that the Pensions Committee be increased from 11 seats to 12 seats, by the addition of one co-opted member and retaining the allocation of these seats to elected members to eight; and

4.    Approves the allocation of Committee seats as detailed in Appendix D of the report in accordance with the political balance rules.

A report by the Executive Director – Resources had been circulated.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

1.    That the Council considered the IRP report and recommendations at Appendix A to the report;

2.    That the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2022/23 be approved as the Lincolnshire County Council Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2023/24 subject to the amendments shown in Appendix B of the report (a 4.04% uplift – as detailed in Option 1 on page 94 of the agenda pack, which was considered by the Independent Remuneration Panel)

A report by the Chief Executive had been circulated.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

That the Council supports:

1.    Engagement with government officials to secure a devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire on the basis of the draft devolution prospectus attached as appendix A to the report.

2.    In principle, devolution to a mayoral county combined authority for Greater Lincolnshire.

3.    Continued engagement with stakeholders with a view to Appendix A being developed and enhanced as the basis for the devolution bid to government to ensure that Greater Lincolnshire is in as strong a position as possible to secure a deal.

The following councillors wished it to be recorded that they voted against this motion: A J Baxter, P M Dilks, Mrs J E Killey, Mrs M J Overton MBE and R B Parker.

Motion by Councillor R B Parker

It was moved and seconded as follows:

Parking on the pavement has long been a hot topic and it could be argued is becoming more of a problem, particularly but not exclusively, in inner-city locations close to town centres. Many inner-city houses do not have garages and residents rely on on-street parking. But in some cases, the streets are too narrow to allow both on-street parking and for vehicles to drive down the centre of the road. In such situations, vehicles are often parked on the pavement so as to allow vehicular flow. Visitors to the area often seek out on-street parking spaces so as to avoid paying car park charges and add to parking on the pavement.

Vehicles parked on the footpath can and often do cause an obstruction and inhibit the independence of many vulnerable people especially older or disabled people with visual or mobility impairments. In such circumstances, pavement parking is dangerous because pedestrians, families with push chairs for example, are forced into the road and into incoming traffic.

When it comes to parking on the pavement outside of London, the Highway Code states that ‘you should not’ park on the pavement. It can be argued that whilst it’s not encouraged, motorists are not prohibited from doing so by default. However, another rule in the Highway Code says that motorists ‘must not’ leave their car in ‘a dangerous position’ or where it creates an unnecessary obstruction to the road. In such cases the police can issue a fixed penalty notice.

In 2020 the government ran a consultation exercise, which amongst other things sought ways to solve the pavement parking problem. Since then, it is fair to say, progress has stalled and currently the ban on pavement parking only applies in London.

It also needs to be recognised that pavements are not designed to carry the weight of motor vehicles and the added maintenance cost of repairing cracked and damaged paving is an unnecessary financial burden on the County Council. 

Accordingly, this council calls on the Executive to

1)      Promote through our Communications Team periodic awareness raising campaigns about the benefits of ‘Better Parking’ in an effort to bring about a change in culture, and

2)      Work with our own Civil Parking Enforcement team and Lincolnshire Police to re-emphasise to motorists the importance of not parking on pavements and the likely consequences of so doing.

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