Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

Apologies had been received from Cllr P Bevan Jones, Cllr W Fredericks, Cllr S Penfold and Cllr E Withington

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 17 November 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2021 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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.

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 T Adams declared a non-pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 21 – Notices of Motion  – ‘Motion for the Ocean’. He said that he was a member of Eastern Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority (IFCA)

Cllr T FitzPatrick declared a non-pecuniary interest in in the same item, as Chairman of Eastern IFCA.

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

There were two public speakers for Agenda item 18: Community Governance Reviews.

The Chairman advised members that item 18 would be taken after agenda item 11, to accommodate the public speakers. He invited them to address members.

Mr B Watkin, Chairman of Sculthorpe Parish Council, said that he wanted to speak about the proposed boundary change for Sculthorpe. He acknowledged that the proposals would make ‘mapping’ of the village tidier but said he did not believe that this should over-ride the concerns of the parishioners. He said that himself and the Vice-Chairman of the parish council had visited 72 of the affected properties and received feedback from 37 that were occupied at the time that they did not wish the changes to proceed.  He said that the overall feeling from the wider village was that if the people affected did not want the boundary to change then it should not go ahead. He said that Sculthorpe Parish Council would therefore request that the changes were not progressed.

Mr T Walters, Vice-Chairman of the Parish Council, said that he wanted to add the issue of financial concerns to the reasons for the proposed changes not progressing. He said that the rise in the cost of living meant that many people were having to choose between heating and eating. If the boundary changed, the properties affected would fall within the Fakenham boundary and their council tax would increase. In addition, there would be fewer properties in Sculthorpe, reducing the income from the precept for the village. He added that this was a repeat of the scenario several years ago when the same matter was considered. It was rejected then and should be rejected now.

The Leader, Cllr S Butikofer, will sign the pledge on behalf of the Council to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community.

Cllr J Toye, Member Champion for the Armed Forces, introduced this item. He explained that the Council had signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2012. The covenant addressed the disadvantages that the armed forces may experience compared to other citizens and to recognise the sacrifices made. As a former member of the military, Cllr Toye said that when he returned to civilian life, there had been no support in place regarding housing provision and employment. The covenant was aimed at addressing these issues and recognised the needs of ex-military personnel and their families. He concluded by saying that the signing of the new pledge committed the Council to achieving three stages – bronze, silver and gold to support the new Armed Forces Duty of Due Regard legislation and indicated the Council’s renewed commitment to the armed forces.

The Chairman then invited the Leader, Cllr S Butikofer to sign the pledge on behalf of the Council. Cllr Butikofer said that she was pleased to be continuing the commitment to the covenant and it was particularly pertinent at the current time. Both her father and first husband had worked for NATO and everyone owed a huge debt to the armed forces.

To receive the Chairman’s communications, if any.

The Chairman welcomed the new member for Stalham, Cllr M Taylor to the Council.

He then provided members with an update on civic events that he had attended:

1^st October 2021 – Mayor of Kings Lynn charity ball at Sandringham

6^th October 2021 – Chairman’s civic reception, Fakenham Racecourse, £1200 raised for the Chairman’s nominated charities.

21^st October 2021 – Trafalgar Day supper, Kings Lynn Town Hall

24^th November 2021 – Thursford Christmas Spectacular

To receive announcements from Cllr S Butikofer, Leader of the Council.

The Leader, Cllr S Butikofer, began by referring to the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ White Paper. She said that it focussed on county deals and as it currently stood would create division between urban areas and rural areas. Whilst many of the key ambitions set out in the white paper were laudable, there was little detail regarding how the objectives would be achieved, particularly how they would be resourced. There was also scant information regarding the impact at community level. She said that more must be done regarding better education and transport links in rural areas. She said that she hoped to see more detail in the rural proofing document that was due in the Spring.

Cllr Butikofer went onto say that the County Council was leading negotiations on these deals. Because of shared concerns around this approach, Norfolk’s District leaders had worked closely together to ensure that there was a District representative at Westminster. It was important that there was engagement, understanding and collaboration.

Cllr Butikofer then spoke about her resignation as Leader. She said that it had not been an easy decision to take. The last 3.5 years had not been planned for, yet despite the significant challenges posed by the pandemic, the Administration had worked hard and managed to achieve a lot. She outlined some of the key achievements including the provision of new temporary accommodation, new business units at North Walsham, the completion of the Reef Leisure centre in Sheringham, the freezing of council tax in 2020 and the declaration of a climate emergency in 2019. She said that working collaboratively was key to delivering at district level – regardless of political party and she hoped to see a change in the tone and style of debate in the Chamber in the future.

Cllr Butikofer concluded by saying that she had always done what she believed to be in the best interests of the District. She thanked the Chief Executive, the Director of Communities and the Corporate PA team for their support. She then thanked Cabinet and Cllr Seward, Deputy Leader, who had been particularly supportive and she thanked him for his steadiness throughout her tenure as Leader.

The Chairman introduced this item. He said that following the announcement by the Leader of her intention to resign, members now needed to accept her resignation and to elect a new Leader of the Council.

It was proposed by Cllr L Shires, seconded by Cllr J Toye and

RESOLVED

To note and accept the resignation of the Leader

The Chairman then invited nominations for the election of a Leader.

Cllr S Butikofer nominated Cllr T Adams. She said that he had represented the people of Cromer, first as a town councillor and then as Mayor. He had subsequently been elected as a County Councillor and a District Councillor and set up ‘Cromer Cares’ during the pandemic. His outstanding experience of community leadership meant that he would make an excellent leader for the District Council.

There being no other nominations, it was proposed by Cllr S Butikofer, seconded by Cllr R Kershaw and

RESOLVED

To elect Cllr T Adams as Leader of the Council

10 members voted against the proposal.

The Chairman then invited Cllr Adams to speak. He said that he had no changes to make to Cabinet appointments. He thanked Cllr Butikofer for her commitment and hard work as Leader. He said that he would take her legacy forwards and was inspired to continue her hard work.

Cllr C Cushing, Leader of the Opposition, said that being Leader of the Council was a major job regardless of political background and to have undertaken the role for 3.5 years was worthy of praise from all councillors. He went onto say that regardless of the political differences between them, Cllr Butikofer had always undertaken the role with passion and dignity. He said that on a personal basis, following his election in 2019, she had always treated him with courtesy and he thanked her on behalf of the Conservative Group for her support.

Cllr J Rest, Leader of the Independent Group, thanked Cllr Butikofer on behalf of his group for all her support.

The Chairman then presented Cllr Butikofer with some flowers on behalf of the members and staff.

The Chairman introduced this item. He explained that following a change to the membership of the political groups at the Council, there was a requirement to review the allocation of seats on committees, sub-committees and working parties to reflect the political balance of the Council, in accordance with section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. He informed members that the Group Leaders had agreed to the proposals set out in the report.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr E Seward and

RESOLVED

1. That Council approves the revised political balance calculation as per section 2.6of this report
2. That Council approves the allocation of seats to political groups as shown at Appendix A (to follow), taking into consideration any arrangements agreed by the Group Leaders
3. That delegation is given to the Group Leaders to make any appointments to committees, sub-committees, working parties & panels.

To approve any changes to appointments to committees, sub-committees, working parties and outside bodies as advised by the Group Leaders.

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Contact Officer, telephone number and email:

  Rob Henry. X6327, robert.henry@north-norfolk.gov.uk

This agenda item was brought forward to accommodate the two public speakers who were in attendance.

Cllr N Housden sought clarification regarding the reference to warding in context of the Raynhams (section 2.4 of the report). The Chief Executive replied that there were approximately 200 homes on the former RAF West Raynham site (known as the Kiptons). About 50 houses were in the Raynham parish and others fell within Helhoughton Parish. To support the building of community identity, it was proposed that they should join the Raynham Parish. It was felt that the number of electors was too low to facilitate the establishment of a new parish. It was therefore proposed that the parish of Raynham was ‘warded’ with two distinct areas, covering existing ward of South, East and West Raynham and then another separate ward for the Kiptons. He added that this was not without precedent. The Runtons, Walsingham and Ryburgh. It was therefore suggested that this model was consulted upon to meet the needs of residents going forward.

Cllr T FitzPatrick referred to page 134 of the agenda. He said that the reference to himself as the county member but in this instance he was acting in his role as District member for Sculthorpe. He asked that the record was corrected to reflect this.

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett said that she wanted to thank the Council on behalf of the residents of Northrepps for listening to their concerns and adapting the recommendation accordingly.

Cllr T FitzPatrick said that having heard the two public speakers regarding the proposals for Sculthorpe and the fact that the report mentioned that the majority of residents in Sculthorpe did not support the proposals, he wished to propose that the proposals relating to Sculthorpe parish as set out in Appendix 2 of the report, were deleted.

Cllr G Mancini-Boyle seconded the proposal.

The Chief Executive explained that the community governance reviews were undertaken following the District Council’s boundary review in 2016/17 – which came into effect in May 2019. The new warding arrangements had led to a number of minor administrative anomalies identified with some parish boundaries and they were acknowledged and accepted at the Full Council meeting in July 2021. There were then a number of proposals which involved a larger number of residential properties in a smaller number of locations – including the boundary between Fakenham North and South and the parish of Sculthorpe. The properties affected, on Sandy Lane fell within the boundary of the Fakenham west bypass and it was felt that these properties were well connected and closer to Fakenham. In addition, the local plan consultation identified two areas for further development and it was proposed that these new properties fell within the Fakenham boundary and that the boundary line should be re-drawn in line with the Fakenham west bypass.

The amendment, having been duly proposed and seconded was then put to the vote and supported with 30 votes in favour, 2 against and one abstention.

The substantive motion was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

The Chairman asked the Monitoring Officer to introduce the report. She explained that the Council currently had one licensing committee to carry out the functions relating to the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act as well as additional matters relating to public protection matters (including taxi licences, zoos etc).She said that these additional matters were governed by the rules and procedures set out in the Local Government Act 1972. The existing committee had established a sub-committee to carry out its functions relating to all aspects of the licensing regime. It was therefore proposed that two separate licensing committees were established to reflect the differing legal requirements and each committee would then establish a sub-committee to carry out its functions. This would ensure that there was a clear demarcation between the legal requirements, ensuring that the Council’s customers were dealt with fairly and transparently  whilst also protecting the Council from any challenge.

The Monitoring Officer said that two separate committees could be created with the same membership. They must be separately constituted but could comprise the same individual members. The first of these committees would be known as the Licensing Committee (Premises and Gambling) and would deal with matters relating to the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005. The second committee would deal with all other licensing matters and would be known as the Licensing Regulatory Committee.

Cllr G Hayman queried whether it was a sufficient safeguard against challenge to have the same members on both committees. He said that it would be preferable to have two committees with separate memberships.

The following amendment was proposed by Cllr Hayman and seconded by Cllr V FitzPatrick:

‘That two licensing committees should be created with separate members on each’.

When put to the vote, the amendment was not supported.

The Chairman then asked members to vote on the original, substantive motion.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr N Lloyd and

RESOLVED

That there be two distinct committees relating to licensing matters: a statutory Licensing Committee [“The Licensing Committee (Premises and Gambling)”] and a regulatory licensing committee which deals with all other licensing functions [“The Licensing Regulatory Committee”]:

(i)       That the current single licensing committee ceases and that two licensing committees be formed for the next Annual Meeting of Council

(ii)      The first of these committees will deal with Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005 matters and will be known as the Licensing Committee (Premises and Gambling).

(iii)     The second committee will deal with all the other licensing matters not detailed in (ii) above and will be known as the Licensing Regulatory Committee

(iv)     Both committees will contain the same members but will be distinct committees and may set up their own Sub-Committees

(v)      That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to update the Constitution to reflect this change.

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 A Fitch-Tillett – Coast

Cllr W Fredericks – Housing & Benefits

Cllr V Gay – Leisure, Culture & Wellbeing

Cllr R Kershaw – Sustainable Growth

Cllr N Lloyd – Environment

Cllr E Seward – Finance, Assets & Legal

Cllr L Shires – Organisational Resources

Cllr J Toye – Planning & Enforcement

The Chairman asked Cabinet members if they wished to provide a verbal update to their written reports.

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett updated members regarding the crack in the car park at Trimingham, which had been caused by storm Corrie. An initial estimate for repair was £15k.

Cllr G Hayman commented that there was no written report for the Leader. He sought confirmation that questions could be put to the Leader during this session. The Chairman confirmed that this was the case.

Cllr V Gay informed members that one of her portfolio holder reports was missing. An updated version had been sent to all members before the meeting.

Cllr G Hayman asked why no member of the existing Cabinet had put themselves forward for the position of Leader. He questioned the reason for this. He added that people should have the opportunity to set out ‘their stall’ as to why they wanted to be Leader. He then asked if the new Leader, Cllr Adam, if he would take the opportunity to apologise publicly for the procurement process for the capability review which had taken place under the former Leader. The Chief Executive replied that the matter was yet to be reported on by the External Auditor to the Council’s Governance, Risk & Audit Committee and any questions relating to this issue could be raised at the meeting of that committee. Cllr Adams said that there had been an election within the Liberal Democrat Group for the nomination for the role of Leader and that any member could put themselves forward if they wished. He said that the current Cabinet was comprised of experienced members and they were well placed to deal with the significant challenges that the Council would be dealing with in the coming months. He concluded by saying that he did not believe that he had anything to apologise for.

Cllr C Cushing congratulated Cllr Adams on his election to the role of Leader. He said he hoped to have a constructive working relationship. He said that Cllr Adams had inherited a Cabinet that had failed to produce any significant amount of income or cost savings for the Council and he asked how he intended to address this.

Cllr Adams replied said that he would focus on maintaining dialogue with local businesses. He said that he would be spending time on the ground across the District. He acknowledged that there was lots to do as the Council emerged into the recovery from the pandemic.

Cllr T FitzPatrick referred to Cllr Fredericks report and the section on homelessness and rough sleeping. He said that it referred to December 2022 and requested that it was changed to 2021. He then asked about the 3 rough sleepers that were refusing assistance. He sought information on the underlying reasons for this and what was being done to try and address them.  Cllr Fredericks (Portfolio Holder for Housing) was not at the meeting and Cllr Adams responded on her behalf. He said that a member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 131.

The following recommendations to Council were agreed by Cabinet at the meeting held on 29^th November 2021:

1.    Agenda Item 10: Public Convenience Investment Programme

Recommend to Full Council that further capital provision of £500,000 is allocated from capital receipts (to include any potential grant funding) to undertake improvements to facilities in Sheringham and North Walsham, to include provision of Changing Places facilities. These facilities will be delivered by the end of the 2022 calendar year

2.    Treasury Management Half-Year Update 2021-2022

Recommends that Full Council approves the Treasury Management Half-Yearly Update 2021-2022

Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported the above recommendations at the meeting held on 8^th December 2021.

1.     Public Convenience Investment Programme

Cllr E Seward, Portfolio Holder for Assets introduced the recommendation. He said that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee had formed a panel to look at the strategy going forwards. He said that officers were aware of the time pressures regarding the Sheringham and North Walsham schemes and work on costs had already begun.

Cllr E Vardy referred to the public conveniences in the town of Holt in his ward. He said that residents were very unhappy about the lack of investment there and requested that consideration should be given to including Holt in any future programme. He reminded members that Holt was a key tourist town and generated a significant amount of income from car parking.  Cllr Seward replied that within the strategy it was proposed that all of the main towns would have up to date toilets, including changing places facilities. He said that challenges around funding for changing places was proving difficult to obtain. Cllr Vardy said that he felt this answer was not sufficient given the amount of income that the town generated. Cllr Seward referred Cllr Vardy to the Scrutiny Panel and said that he could raise his concerns there as part of their remit was to consider priorities.

Cllr T FitzPatrick referred to the village of Walsingham in his ward. He said that it was a very popular destination for pilgrims with between 300- 400k a year visiting. At present there was just one inadequate public toilet. He added with the District becoming an increasingly population staycation destination, many holiday homes were at full capacity and the needs of the whole District must be considered regarding the provision of public conveniences. Cllr Seward replied that the Scrutiny Panel would consider the needs of Holt and Walsingham as part of their assessment.

Cllr P Grove-Jones said that she welcomed the review and that her own local town of Stalham needed to have its public conveniences assessed. She added that the Council had one of the highest number of public conveniences in the country. Annually, maintenance of the 38 toilets was approximately £700k per annum.

Cllr Seward said that between 2010 – 2019 over 600 public toilets had been closed across the country and the Council was bucking the trend by maintaining and improving facilities.

Cllr Hayman asked whether improved signage could be provided as this would help reduce the misuse of other areas. Cllr Grove-Jones said that the County Council had charged £300 for the provision of a sign in Stalham.

It was proposed by Cllr E Seward, seconded by Cllr E Spagnola and

RESOLVED

That further capital provision of £500,000 is allocated from capital receipts (to include any potential grant funding) to undertake improvements to facilities in Sheringham and North Walsham, to include provision of Changing Places facilities. These facilities will be delivered by the end of the 2022 calendar year.

2.     Treasury Management Half-Year Update 2021-2022

It was proposed by Cllr E Seward, seconded by Cllr E Spagnola and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 132.

To consider any recommendations from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 12^th January.

Recommendations from the meeting held on 9^th February will be considered by Full Council on 23^rd February.

Cllr N Dixon, Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, said that there was one recommendation from the meeting on 12^th January regarding the Net Zero Strategy. He understood that this would be coming to the next meeting of Full Council for adoption and would update members at that time.

The following recommendation to Full Council was made at the meeting of the Governance, Risk & Audit Committee meeting held on 7^th December 2021:

Agenda item 11: External Audit Procurement Exercise

RESOLVED to recommend to Council that NNDC opt-in to the PSAA joint procurement exercise, while also providing feedback to them on how the process could be improved.

The Chairman of the Governance, Risk & Audit Committee, Cllr J Rest, asked the Director for Resources to introduce this item.

The Director for Resources explained that the recommendation was to accept Public Sector Appointments’ invitation to opt in to the sector-led option for the appointment of external auditors to principal local government and police bodies for 5 financial years from 1 April 2023. BY participating in the national collective scheme, it was believed that the Council would gain from economy of scale, reducing costs and increasing the opportunity to secure the appointment of a qualified, registered auditor.

It was proposed by Cllr J Rest, seconded by Cllr S Butikofer and

RESOLVED

To opt-in to the PSAA joint procurement exercise, while also providing feedback to them on how the service could be improved.

Contact Officer, telephone number and email:

Alison Argent, Tel: 01263 516058, Email: alison.argent@north-norfolk.gov.uk

The Chief Executive said that he wished to suggest an amendment to the draft programme of meetings. He said that with District council elections being held in May 2023, it would be preferable to have no meetings of Cabinet, Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Full Council during April 2023 which was the pre-election period. It was therefore suggested that these meetings were deleted from the programme and that an additional meeting of Full Council was scheduled for 29^th March 2023 to allow retiring members the opportunity to say their farewells to colleagues.

It was proposed by Cllr J Punchard, seconded by Cllr N Lloyd and

RESOLVED

To adopt the Programme of Meetings for 2022-2023 as amended.

None Received.

None received.

None Received.

Please note that there is a total time limit of 30 minutesfor this item – as set out in the Constitution, Chapter 2, paragraph 14.11

The following notices of motion have been received:

1.    Health & Well-being of Coastal Communities

Proposed by Cllr V Gay, seconded by Cllr A Fitch-Tillett:

‘In July 2021 the Chief Medical Officer for England published his Annual Report.  It was entitled Health in Coastal Communities.  In his report Professor Chris Whitty wrote that

Whilst the focus nationally over the summer may be directed towards visitors, with many opting to stay in one of the UK’s many beautiful coastal towns, it is important to remember that the coast is also home to millions of people and that the health and wellbeing of these populations has been long neglected and overlooked.

The report draws attention to conditions which are familiar to us: an aging population; a difficulty in attracting health professionals; an infrequent and fragmented system of public transportation combined with a long journey to an acute hospital; an economy founded in low wages and seasonal work.  The Chief Medical Officer's report encompasses all of these things and more.  

The first recommendation of the report is for a cross-government national strategy to improve the health and well-being of coastal communities. 

We propose therefore that North Norfolk District Council call upon the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP as Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Community to work together to enact the recommendations arising from Professor Whitty's Annual Report.’

2.    Motion for the Ocean

Proposed by Cllr A Fitch-Tillett, seconded by Cllr N Lloyd.

This Council declares an urgent need for Ocean Recovery.

We recognise that we need ocean recovery to meet our net zero carbon targets, and we need net zero carbon to recover our ocean.

This Council pledges to:

1.    Report to Full Council within 12 months on the actions and projects that will begin an ocean recovery in North Norfolk

2.    Consider ocean recovery in all strategic decisions, plans, budgets and approaches to decisions by the Council (particularly in planning, regeneration, skills and economic policy), aligning with climate change mitigation and adaptation requirements, and considering ocean-based solutions in our journey towards a carbon neutral and climate resilient future.

3.    Promote closer working between North Norfolk District Council and the Marine Management Organisation and embed strong links between the Local Plan and the East Marine Plan to support ocean recovery. 

4.    Ensure that the Local Nature Recovery Strategy strives to support ocean recovery.

5.    Work with partners locally and nationally to deliver increased sustainability in marine industries and develop a sustainable and equitable blue economy that delivers ocean recovery and local prosperity.

6.    Grow ocean literacy and marine citizenship in North Norfolk including ensuring all pupils are given the opportunity to experience the ocean first-hand before leaving primary school- striving to include home-schooled children -  ...  view the full agenda text for item 138.

The Chairman said that there were two notices of motion for debate. He then reminded members that there was a total of 30 minutes for this item.

1.     Heath and Wellbeing of Coastal Communities

Cllr V Gay, Portfolio Holder for Health & Wellbeing, introduced the motion. She said that she had been present at the Rural Partnership meeting at the end of 2021 at which the Chief Medical Officer for England presented his Annual Report entitled  Health in Coastal Communities. She outlined the various problems and conditions that affected the health of residents in coastal communities including an ageing population, lengthy journeys to an acute hospital, difficulties in attracting health professionals and an economy funded by low paid, seasonal work.

Cllr Gay said that the report called for a cross-government national strategy to improve the health and well-being of coastal communities and it was therefore proposed that the Council call upon the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Community to work together to enact the recommendations arising from the Annual Report. The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and the Coastal Forum were also supportive of this approach.

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett, in seconding the motion, said that she had been appointed to Cabinet in 2011 as the Portfolio Holder for Coast and Wellbeing and the relationship between the two sectors was absolutely key. She drew members attention to paragraph 3 of the full motion which outlined the many challenges faced by coastal communities.

It was proposed by Cllr V Gay, seconded by Cllr A Fitch-Tillett and

RESOLVED

That North Norfolk District Council calls upon the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP as Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Community to work together to enact the recommendations arising from Professor Whitty's Annual Report.

Nine members abstained.

2.     Motion for the Ocean

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett introduced the motion. She began by saying that it complemented the Council’s declaration of a climate emergency. Over the past year the lead officer of the LGA Coastal Special Interest Group (SIG) had worked with leading marine social scientists and the University of Plymouth to develop this motion. She said that this was a country-wide concern and since the motion was presented to the Coastal SIG last December, Plymouth City Council had already declared an urgent need for ocean recovery and they were followed by Falmouth Town Council and South Tyneside Council. She concluded by saying that NNDC was well on the way to achieving change. There were several Blue Flag beaches, plenty of litter bins and teams of beach cleaners and through the Council’s partners the Wash and NN Marine Partnership it was hoped to commence a ‘Fishing for Litter’ scheme and some bins had already been installed along the coast to help fishermen. She concluded by saying that more needed to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138.

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.”