Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

Apologies had been received from Cllrs P Fisher, C Heinink, N Housden, E Seward and L Shires.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 20 December 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 December 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda.  The Code of Conduct for Members requires that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (see attached guidance and flowchart)

Cllr Dr V Holliday declared a pecuniary interest in Agenda item 10 – Rate Relief Policy. She confirmed she could abstain.

To determine any other items of business which the Chairman decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

None received.

To receive the Chairman’s communications, if any.

The Chairman opened her communications by speaking about former Councillor, Anthea Sweeney, who had died on 22 January 2023. Anthea had been the Liberal Democrat District Councillor for Chaucer Ward from September 2005 – May 2015

She became a District Councillor in September 2005, following the death of her husband, John in July 2005, replacing him as Councillor for Chaucer Ward. She had been an active member of the Council serving on several committees.

The Chairman invited Cllr Gay, a good friend of Anthea’s to say a few words. Cllr Gay said that Anthea was the kindest of friends and an excellent councillor. She would be very much missed. At the Chairman’s request, members observed a minutes silence in Anthea’s memory.

The Chairman then outlined civic events that she had attended since the last meeting of Full Council:

27 January - Holocaust Day Memorial Service at St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich

28 January – installation of the 40^th Dean of Norwich, Norwich Cathedral

28 March – Easter Bake Sale and Raffle to raise funds for the Chairman’s charities.

To receive announcements from the Leader.

The Leader began by referring to the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine which was on 24^th February. The Council would be observing a minutes silence at 11am to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. The Ukrainian national flag would be flown at full mast all day and the Pier would be illuminated in blue and yellow. He said that he was pleased that North Norfolk had been so hospitable to so many who had escaped the conflict.

Cllr Adams then spoke about ongoing work on the Council’s assets, including Cromer Pier, areas of North Walsham and the crinkle-crankle wall at Fakenham. He highlighted the completion of the recent refurbishment of Sheringham Little Theatre, which the Council had contributed to.

The Leader said that the completion of the tree planting scheme was imminent in March and he thanked everyone for their hard work in achieving this.

He said he was continuing to engage with Serco regarding missed bin collections and although he was pleased to report they were coming down, he was still far from satisfied and would continue to press them for results.

The Leader updated members on the situation regarding the use of ring frisbees on beaches, following the motion at the previous meeting of Full Council. He said himself and two members of staff were due to meet with the Friends of Horsey Seals and representatives from the RSPCA at East Winch. Communications to highlight the issue of ring frisbees had been published.

A meeting had been arranged with Anglian Water, the Environment Agency and Norfolk County Council Highways to discuss the loss of the blue flag status at three of the District’s beaches.

The Leader concluded by saying that the Council was still awaiting feedback on its unsuccessful levelling up bids and would consider its options for applying to any future funds.

At this point, the Chairman allowed Cllr G Perry-Warnes to speak. She referred to her previous comments regarding the reinstatement of prayers at the start of Full Council meetings and asked when this may commence. The Democratic Services Manager said that she needed a bit more time to explore all of the options, including offering to cover travel expenses and how this would be funded. She was also looking into the possibility of facilitating remote prayers, so that the attending member of the clergy could join the meeting via a link.

To consider any questions or statements received from members of the public.

Two members of the public had requested to speak, Mr Martin Booth and Mr David Russell.

The Chairman invited Mr Booth to speak first. He said that he was Secretary of the North Norfolk Trade Union Council and was speaking on behalf of its members:

‘As the Council is presumably aware, there is currently a dispute involving refuse collectors in North Norfolk, currently employed by the private contractors Serco. We understand that these workers, who are highly valued by our community and who worked tirelessly through the pandemic, are currently being paid at or not much above the minimum wage and have been offered a rise far below the current rate of inflation. Clearly any dispute would have a serious impact on this vital service, so as the contracting authority we would like the Council to address these questions:

1. As the single contract covers 3 local authorities, how much autonomy does NNDC have to intervene in any dispute that would settle things for NNDC workers, if Breckland and Kings Lynn & West Norfolk resist such a conciliatory approach?

2. Given that waste contracts are being taken out of private company hands in nearby local authorities (Gt Yarmouth Borough Council and East Suffolk Council) can NNDC explore this as an option so as to take back direct control of services NNDC residents rely on? Both councils have or are setting up their own Local Authority Trading Company.

3. Have NNDC political leaders and/or officers met with the workforce to get an accurate picture of the feelings amongst the workers they have a responsibility for as commissioner of this service? They have met UNISON officials but at the time of writing have yet to take up the offer to meet with the local union reps at the Aylsham depot.

4. Does NNDC have the ability to increase the budget on this contract to ensure the NNDC element of it pays the Real Living Wage or would NNDC have to wait until the contract is re-tendered to be able to stipulate this as a requirement of the service provider?

Mr Booth concluded that there was currently a live ballot of union members and unless an improved offer was received, there was the very real possibility of waste collectors going on strike.

The Leader thanked Mr Booth for his questions. He said that he took the matter very seriously. However, Serco was the provider of a service on behalf of the Council and NNDC was not responsible for pay. He confirmed that officers had been in contact with Serco but the Council could not get involved in the negotiations with Serco employees. He said he understood that Kings Lynn depot had accepted the earlier pay offer. He said that based on the pay offer shared with the Council by Serco, it was above inflation and would be backdated to April 2022 and this would see Serco employees on rates above the Living Wage.

He said that the Council was not currently at a point where it could consider  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

a)    Agenda Item 10 – Capital Strategy 2023 – 2024

Recommendation to Council: To approve the Capital Strategy and Prudential Indicators for 2023-2024

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported the recommendation at the meeting held on 25^th January 2023.

b)    Agenda item 11 – Investment Strategy 2023 – 2024

Recommendation to Council: To approve the Investment Strategy 2023 – 2024

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported the recommendation at the meeting held on 25^th January 2023.

c)    Agenda Item 12 – Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2023 – 2024

Recommendation to Council: That the Treasury Management Strategy 2023 – 2024 is approved.

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported the recommendation at the meeting held on 25^th January 2023.

d)    Fees & Charges 2023 – 2024

Recommendation to Council: To agree

a. The fees and charges from 1 April 2023 as included in Appendix A.

b. That Delegated Authority be given to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and relevant Heads of Service, to agree those fees and charges not included within Appendix A as required, as outlined within the report c. That there be added to Appendix A, a provision to permit the Holt Market to operate with a single Street Market fee at such amount delegated to the Director for Communities until such time as the Street Trading Policy is approved.

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported recommendations a & b at the meeting held on 25^th January 2023. Recommendation c was agreed after the O&S Meeting.

The Leader introduced the recommendations made to Council by Cabinet at the meeting held on 6^th February.

The Chairman asked if any member wished to speak.

Cllr E Vardy referred to the final recommendation relating to Fees & Charges 2023 – 2024 and asked the Leader to give clarity and reassurance to market traders in Holt that they would not be charged a separate fee for each stall. The Leader replied that this was the intention of the recommendation. The aim was to simplify the process until a new street trading policy was in place, adding that there would be a single fee for the whole event rather than a charge per stall.

Cllr G Hayman referred to the Capital Strategy 2023 – 2024. He highlighted section 4.7 which made reference to the Council’s portfolio of commercial assets to rent within the District. He said that it was important that these were used for community benefit and that they were delivering the maximum that they could. He was aware that some were under-utilised and it was important they were reviewed regularly to ensure that they were operating as effectively as they could. The Leader said that he agreed that some of the assets were working very well and benefitting the community. However, he acknowledged there were some empty properties that presented challenges but these would be reviewed and assessed whenever the opportunity presented itself. Cllr Hayman said that he was aware that some properties that were being used were not being leveraged to ensure maximum use by the community and the Council had a responsibility to review these and ensure that they delivered fully. The Leader said he was happy to consider any specific examples and have a further discussion with Cllr Hayman.

The Chairman proposed that the recommendations were taken en bloc:

RESOLVED

Capital Strategy 2023 – 2024

To approve the Capital Strategy and Prudential Indicators for 2023-2024

Investment Strategy 2023 – 2024

To approve the Investment Strategy 2023 – 2024

Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2023 – 2024

To approve  the Treasury Management Strategy 2023 – 2024

Fees & Charges 2023 – 2024

To agree

a. The fees and charges from 1 April 2023 as included in Appendix A.

b. That Delegated Authority be given to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and relevant Heads of Service, to agree those fees and charges not included within Appendix A as required, as outlined within the report

c. That there be added to Appendix A, a provision to permit the Holt Market to operate with a single Street Market fee at such amount delegated to the Director for Communities until such time as the Street Trading Policy is approved.

To consider any recommendations from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 15^th February.

Please note the Full Council agenda was published before the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting took place. The Chairman will provide an oral update at the meeting.

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Cllr N Dixon, advised members that there were no recommendations from the meeting held on 15^th February.

The Leader introduced this item. He explained that the report reflected all of the changes that were being implemented for the upcoming financial year. He welcomed the proposed changes and thanked staff for their hard work in supporting local businesses.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr R Kershaw and

RESOLVED

That the Revenues Manager continues to have delegated authority to make decisions up to the NNDC cost value of £4k as indicated in Appendix A.

That the Revenues Manager has delegated authority to make Hardship Relief decisions up to the NNDC cost value of £4k as indicated in Appendix C.

That the Rate Relief Policy is revised as indicated in Appendix A, B and C.

Cllr Dr V Holliday abstained.

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on the write the report and which do not contain exempt information)

The Chairman outlined the process to Members, explaining that there would be a number of recorded votes. She then invited theChief Financial Officer to explain the robustness of the estimates and the adequacy of the reserves, as required to do by statute.

The Chief Financial Officer (Director for Resources and Section 151 Officer) began by referring members to pages 133, section 4 of the agenda, which provided details of the process which had been carried out in preparing the Budget for presentation to Full Council. She explained that in formulating her opinion, she had considered the 2021/2022 Outturn position, the current forecast outturn position for 2022/2023 and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and funding available and the budgets required for future years. She had also looked at the cashflow which had been monitored throughout the year.

She explained that there was an established budget setting process at NNDC and this had been followed again. It had been updated as required to reflect increases in staff pay, increases in fees and charges.  She went onto say that there was a greater level of uncertainty and risk in setting forecasts than in previous years. Due to long awaited business rates reform and the outcome of the fair funding review, which would be introduced from 2025/26 at the earliest, it was assumed that funding levels would remain at the 2023/2024 level.

The Chief Financial Officer said it had been a challenging year but she was satisfied with the assumptions that had been made regarding forecasts. She referred to section 4.16 which highlighted high risk areas and said these would be monitored closely. In conclusion, she said that she considered that the level of general and earmarked reserves were adequate and the budget was produced within a robust framework.

The Chairman invited the Leader, Cllr T Adams, to introduce the budget. He began by saying that he was sad that the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Cllr Seward, was not able to introduce the budget. It had been a challenging budget this year and he thanked the Finance team for their hard work and support.

The Leader said that the main priorities in setting the Budget had been to retain levels of service in supporting households and working towards the Net Zero target. The focus had been on finding savings without cutting services. Inflation had had an impact and the Council had reduced its short-term borrowing to reflect this and sources of additional income were being explored.

The Leader said that many local authorities had a challenging time ahead and there was no doubt that NNDC was in a more advantageous position than most. There was up to 40% inflation reported on some build projects in the district and this was impacting on the delivery of projects. However, the Council’s treasury management advisers had indicated that the pressures would ease in the future. That said, there had been very little improvement in terms of Government funding and although the additional 3% funding guarantee was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

Contact Officer, telephone number and email:

James Claxton, Human Resources Manager

james.claxton@north-norfolk.gov.uk

(01263) 516352

The Leader, Cllr T Adams, introduced this item. He explained that Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011 required the Council to produce an annual pay policy statement for the start of each financial year. The attached statement was drawn up cover the period 2023/24. It was a legal requirement that Full Council formally signed off the statement.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr W Fredericks and

RESOLVED

To adopt the Pay Policy Statement and to publish the statement for 2023/24 on the Council’s website.

To receive reports from Cabinet Members on their portfolios.

Members are reminded that they may ask questions of the Cabinet Member on their reports and portfolio areas but should note that it is not a debate.

No member may ask more than one question plus a supplementary question, unless the time taken by members’ questions does not exceed 30 minutes in total, in which case, second questions will be taken in the order that they are received (Constitution, Chapter 2, part 2, section 12.2)

Cabinet members (listed alphabetically):

Cllr T Adams (Leader / Executive Support)

Cllr A Brown – Planning & Enforcement

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett – Coast

Cllr W Fredericks – Housing & Benefits

Cllr V Gay – Leisure, Culture & Wellbeing

Cllr R Kershaw – Sustainable Growth

Cllr N Lloyd – Environment & Climate Change

Cllr E Seward - Finance, Assets & Legal

Cllr L Shires – Organisational Resources

The Chairman invited Cabinet members to provide a brief update to their written report if they wished to do so.

Cllr A Brown, Portfolio Holder for Planning & Enforcement, referred to page196 and the Glaven Valley Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Plan. He said he wanted to advise member that the public hearings for Holt and Blakeney would now take place on 9^th March (both on the same day).

Cllr Dr V Holliday asked Cllr N Lloyd, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, how and why a resident had died of Leptospirosis following a rat infestation in their property. Cllr Lloyd replied that this was a very sad incident. There was an extensive infestation which resulted in a case of Weil’s disease. It had been reported to the Council but the matter was being dealt with by a commercial company which was dealing with the infestation. Cllr Lloyd said that support was being provided to the affected family.

Cllr N Pearce asked Cllr R Kershaw, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, for more information on how the first tranche of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund would be dispersed. Cllr Kershaw replied that the late delivery of the first tranche would be allowed to roll over into year two. He said the Council had received confirmation that its investment plan was approved and work was underway with the panel, which included both local MPs and stakeholders, to begin working on the delivery mechanism. Cllr Kershaw said that the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) would be distributing funds and ensuring that there would be no cross-over with other local authorities. Consultation with businesses would commence soon.

Cllr S Penfold asked Cllr A Brown to provide more information on how the proposed Joint Venture company which was being established to deliver mitigation against the impact of nutrient neutrality. Cllr Brown replied that the intention was to establish a company with other affected Norfolk authorities and Anglian Water to invest in environmental credits to sell to developers who wished to ‘unlock’ sites affected by nutrient neutrality. There was still work to do regarding how the funds would be divided up, there were several possible options that could be considered, although ti was likely that priority would be given to minor developments as these could be delivered quickly. He said that a report would be going to Cabinet on 6^th March, setting out more detail.  More work needed to be undertaken on how credit ‘banking’ could be avoided. It was anticipated that sites could be unlocked for development in the next couple of months.

Cllr M Taylor asked Cllr Lloyd about missed bin collections. He made reference to a resident in his ward whose brown (garden) bin had been missed three times. Given that residents paid for this service, Cllr Taylor wondered whether the Council was able to provide compensation. He also asked Cllr Lloyd to confirm how much the Council had collected in fines from Serco (the waste collection service) for missed collections. Cllr Lloyd said that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 125.

To receive questions from Members.

None Received.

None Received.

To pass the following resolution – if necessary:

“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) _ of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”