Venue: Council Chamber, Runcorn Town Hall
Contact: Angela Scott on 0151 511 8670 or Email: angela.scott@halton.gov.uk
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 10 July 2019 were taken as read and signed as a correct record. |
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Leader's Report Minutes: The Leader made the following announcements:- · The proposed merger of Halton and Warrington CCG would not now take place. The Council felt that it would not have been in the interests of either community. Halton would continue to work collectively with the CCG to provide the best health and social care services possible; · Government had announced a one year settlement on funding arrangements for local government for 2020/21. Specific grant figures would be made known in December 2019, which would have an impact on Halton’s preparations for the 2020/21 budget. The Budget Working Group would continue to meet over the coming months to consider budget options. |
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Minutes of the Executive Board PDF 157 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Council considered the minutes of the Executive Board meetings on 25 July 2019 and the 19 September 2019. RESOLVED: That the minutes be received. |
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Minutes of the Health and Wellbeing Board PDF 102 KB Minutes: The Council considered the minutes of the Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on 10 July 2019. RESOLVED: That the minutes be received. |
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Questions Asked Under Standing Order 8 Minutes: It was noted that no questions had been submitted under Standing Order No. 8. |
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2019/20 Revised Capital Programme (MINUTE EXB 29 refers) PDF 86 KB Executive Board considered the attached report. RECOMMENDED: That Council approve the revisions to the Council’s 2019/20 Capital Programme set out in paragraph 3.2 of the report. Minutes: The Council considered a report of the Operational Director, Finance, on the 2019/20 revised Capital Programme. RESOLVED: That the revisions to the Council’s 2019/20 Capital Programme set out in paragraph 3.2 of the report, be approved. |
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Leisure Centre at Moor Lane (MINUTE EXB 35 refers) PDF 99 KB Executive Board considered the attached report. RECOMMENDED: That Council make a change to the Capital Programme in order to finance the development of a Leisure Centre at Moor Lane, Widnes. Additional documents: Minutes: The Council considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, on the development of a leisure centre at Moor Lane, Widnes. RESOLVED: That Council make a change to the Capital Programme in order to finance the development of a leisure centre at Moor Lane, Widnes. |
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(N.B. Councillors Joan
Lowe and Alan Lowe declared a Disclosable Other Interest in Minute HEA6 of the Health
Policy and Performance Board as their daughter –in –law worked as a care worker
for the provider) |
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Minutes of the Policy and Performance Boards and the Business Efficiency Board PDF 89 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Council considered the reports of the following Boards in the period since the meeting of Council on 10 July 2019:- · Children, Young People and Families; · Health; · Safer; · Environment and Urban Renewal: · Employment, Learning and Skills and Community; · Corporate Services; and · Business Efficiency. |
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Minutes: The Council considered the reports of the following Committees in the period since the meeting of Council on 10 July 2019:- · Development Control |
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Notice of Motion - Orgreave PDF 94 KB Minutes: ORGREAVE Council considered a Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order No. 6. The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Lauren Cassidy and seconded by Councillor Geoff Zygadllo:- ‘This Council is concerned and disappointed by the previous Home
Secretary’s rejection on the 31st October 2016 of an Inquiry into the policing
of events at Orgreave. This Council notes, since this
decision was taken, a new Home Secretary, Priti
Patel, is now in office. Council is pleased to note the decision by the Scottish Parliament on
7th June 2018 to order an independent review to investigate and report on the
impact of policing on affected communities in Scotland during the period of the
miners’ strike from March 1984- March 1985. This Council further praises the
decision of the Welsh Assembly on 12th June 2018 to write to the Home
Secretary, to ask for an independent review into policing in England and Wales
during the miners’ strike, and on 13th June 2018 to also write again asking
that the Home Secretary orders an inquiry specifically into the policing at Orgreave on 18th June 1984. Council asks, in the light of such statements from the Scottish and
Welsh government, what the Home Secretary has done since these statements, to
take these into account and express her views, on a full public inquiry into
the events at the Orgreave coking plant on 18th June
1984. Council notes that 95 miners were arrested and charged with offences, but
were all later acquitted amid claims that police at the time had fabricated
evidence. Halton Council observes that the Independent
Police Complaints Commission said about Orgreave on
18th June 1984 in their report released in June 2015 “that there was evidence
of excessive violence by police officers, and a false narrative from police
exaggerating violence by miners, perjury by officers giving evidence to
prosecute the arrested men, and an apparent cover-up of that perjury by senior
officers”. This Council is of the view that the Home Secretary needs to acknowledge
the action of the Scottish government and the call from the Welsh government
and confirm her response. Halton Council resolves to write to the Home
Secretary to ask that they acknowledge the response of the Scottish and Welsh
Parliaments, explains what action she has taken in response and takes into
account the opinion of this Council and accepts that there is widespread public
concern about events at Orgreave and calls for her to
order an inquiry into them’. The motion was put and carried. RESOLVED: That
the motion be approved. |
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Notice of Motion - Personal Care PDF 194 KB Minutes: PERSONAL CARE Council considered a Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order No. 6. The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Pamela Wallace and seconded by Councillor June Roberts:- ‘This
Council notes that over a million older people in England are struggling with
unmet care needs and believes that given there is an ageing population we need
changes to deliver better for social care.
The
government is not giving local authorities enough money to deliver a quality
care service and social care funding is not ring-fenced. Since 2010, £2 million has been taken out of the
national social care budget every day and as our population ages and social
care demand increases, we urgently need a stable, comprehensive solution to the
funding crisis. The Council
takes the view that:
The Council
calls on government to take the necessary steps to implement these changes as
swiftly as possible to end the care crisis and properly support older people in
Halton’. The motion was put and carried. RESOLVED: That
the motion be approved. |
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Notice of Motion - Leasehold Ownership PDF 102 KB Minutes: LEASEHOLD OWNERSHIP Council considered a Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order No. 6. The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Geoff Logan and seconded by Councillor Andrew MacManus:- ‘This Council calls
for changes to leasehold home ownership to prevent Halton
home owners being exposed to the risk of excessive ground rents, punitive fees
and onerous contract conditions, stating what homeowners can and can’t do to
their own home. Council notes that
a significant number of houses and apartments in Halton
are owned as leasehold and we call for government to introduce wide-ranging
proposals, giving new and fairer rights to leaseholders. Council resolves to
write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
urging that government take steps to: 1)
End the sale of new private leasehold houses
with direct effect and the sale of private leasehold flats; 2)
End ground rents for new leasehold homes, and
cap ground rents for existing leaseholders up to a maximum of £250 a year; 3)
Set a simple fair formula for leaseholders to
buy the freehold to their home, or commonhold in the
case of an apartment; 4)
Crack down on unfair fees and contract terms by
publishing a reference list of reasonable charges, requiring transparency on
service charges and giving leaseholders a right to challenge rip-off fees and
conditions or poor performance from service companies; and 5)
Give residents greater powers over the
management of their homes, with new rights for apartment owners to form
residents’ associations and by simplifying the right to manage’. The motion was put and carried. RESOLVED: That
the motion be approved. |
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Notice of Motion - Climate Emergency PDF 120 KB Minutes: CLIMATE EMERGENCY Council considered a Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order No. 6. The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Norman Plumpton Walsh and seconded by Councillor Bill Woolfall:- ‘This Council resolves
to declare a Climate Emergency. Council believes
that climate change poses a severe risk to the future of our planet and global
warming has serious consequences, affecting our economic, social and
environmental well-being, both here in Halton and
across the world. In looking at our
business activities Council agrees to: ·
Ensuring
that Council takes responsibility for reducing, as rapidly as possible, the
carbon emissions resulting from our business activities. ·
Strive
towards ensuring all Council activities become carbon neutral. ·
Ensure
all strategic decisions, budget priorities and approaches to managing our
services give regard to shifting towards being carbon neutral. ·
Seek to
achieve 100% clean energy across the full range of the Council’s functions. Further, Council
requests that each Policy & Performance Board reviews the impact of climate
change when reviewing Council policies and strategies. In looking at
protecting our communities Council further agrees: ·
To help
promote support from our communities for environmental change that will help
reduce or eliminate carbon emissions and help raise public awareness. ·
To ask
all Halton schools to cover climate change within the
school curriculum. Council believes all young people should be educated about
the ecological and social impact of climate change. ·
Work
with, influence and inspire Council partners across the Borough, Cheshire and
Liverpool City Region to put concern for climate change in all relevant
strategies, plans and shared resources. Council further
calls upon the government to provide added resources and funding to help local
authorities be best prepared to help tackle global warming at a local level’. The motion was put and carried. RESOLVED: That
the motion be approved. |
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Notice of Motion - Fighting Fire in Our Borough PDF 133 KB Minutes: FIGHTING FIRE IN OUR BOROUGH Council considered a Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order No. 6. The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Peter Lloyd Jones and seconded by Councillor Lauren Cassidy:- ‘This
Council pays tribute to the essential work undertaken by every member
of staff at Cheshire Fire and Rescue.
We recognise that it is their hard work, everyday, that keeps people safe in their homes, in the place that they work, or whilst they are here visiting
our County. This Council
believes that government cuts to fire services in the UK have
gone too far. We recognise the pressures
faced by Cheshire
Fire and Rescue and the Fire Authority, which has had to
deal with cuts of £12 million over the past nine years. This Council
understands the high levels of public concern about fire cuts and the impact
that this could have on the community where they live. We acknowledge the role that the campaign
in Crewe played in raising
awareness amongst members of the public
about fire cover
in the area. The level of public
interest in both this campaign
and campaigns in Chester and Ellesmere
Port serves as a reminder
to councils and other public
services in the sub
region about the need to be innovative
in finding ways to involve
and communicate with residents in the decisions
we take. This Council
believes that all residents in Halton and across the
County, need to feel confident about response times and fire cover where they live. Therefore this Council resolves
to ask the Leader of
the Council to write to the Policing and Fire Minister to lobby for: • An urgent government review of the impact of austerity on fire services
and response times; •
Restoration of the cuts to fire
service finances over the last nine years; • A decent
pay rise for Cheshire
Firefighters and staff; And to write to the Chief Fire Officer
at Cheshire Fire and Rescue to ask that the Fire Authority considers the following recommendations: • That as part of ongoing fire service reviews,
the current 10 minute target time for fire engines
to respond
to dwelling fires is expanded to
include
historic buildings, office buildings, industrial sites, schools, hospitals
and other public buildings. • Other Incident types such as Flooding, water rescue, rescue
from Height and Incidents
involving Hazardous materials are all included within the Cheshire 10 minute standard. • That the Cheshire Fire and Rescue
10 minute standard is inclusive of the
call handling time as advised by the Home Office, formerly Department for Communities and Local Government. That
the Fire Authority considers passing
their
own
Climate
Change Emergency
motion’. The motion was put and carried. RESOLVED: That
the motion be approved. |
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Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 In this case Council has a discretion to
exclude the press and public and, in view of the nature of the business to be
transacted, it is RECOMMENDED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government
Act 1972, having been satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case the
public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in
disclosing the information, the press and public be excluded from the meeting
for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely
disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of
Schedule 12A to the Act. Please note that if this resolution is
passed, members of the press and public will be asked to leave the room prior
to the consideration of the following business. Minutes: (1) whether
Members of the press and public should be excluded from the meeting of the
Board during consideration of the following item of business in accordance with
Sub-Section 4 of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 because it was
likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be considered, exempt
information would be disclosed, being information defined in Section 100 (1)
and paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972; and (2) whether
the disclosure of information was in the public interest, whether any relevant
exemptions were applicable and whether, when applying the public interest test
and exemptions, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed
that in disclosing the information. RESOLVED: That as, in
all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the
exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information, members
of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the
following item of business in accordance with Sub-Section 4 of Section 100A of
the Local Government Act 1972 because it was likely that, in view of the nature
of the business, exempt information would be disclosed, being information
defined in Section 100 (1) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local
Government Act 1972. |
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(N.B. Councillor Ron Hignett declared a Disclosable Other Interest in the following
item of business as he was on the Sci-Tech Public
Joint Venture Board) |
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Sci-Tech Daresbury: Project Violet Funding Update (MINUTE EXB 39 refers) Executive Board considered the attached report. RECOMMENDED: That Council include the scheme in the 2019/20 Capital Programme, to be funded as set out in paragraph 3.2 to 3.4 of the report. Minutes: Council considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which provided an update on the next phase of the Sci-Tech Daresbury Enterprise Zone Masterplan – Project Violet. RESOLVED: That the scheme be included in the 2019/20 Capital Programme, to be funded as set out in paragraph 3.2 to 3.4 of the report. |