Meeting documents

To receive a presentation from The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, Francis Habgood, who will also be accompanied by the LPA Commander, Superintendent Vince Grey and Anthony Stansfeld, Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Chairman welcomed Francis Habgood, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, and Superintendent Vince Grey Local Policing Area Commander to the meeting. Francis Habgood was appointed Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police in April 2015, and Vince Grey had recently been appointed the Policing Area Commander for Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire.  Apologies for the meeting were received from Anthony Stansfeld, the Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner.

A video was shown highlighting the achievements of Thames Valley Police over the past year, and the Chief Constable gave a presentation to Members covering the following key themes:

• Thames Valley Police’s commitment: working together to make communities safer
• Examples of what Thames Valley Police had done and would be doing to keep people safe and bring offenders to justice
• Examples of how the police were working with other partners to build strong and more resilient communities
• Examples of how technology was being used to provide a modern police force which meets the needs of communities
• Operational priorities for 2017/18

The Chief Constable’s presentation also covered a number of slides sent by Anthony Stansfeld, the Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner, including the Crime Performance Headlines for 2016/17 and the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Strategic Priorities for 2017-21.

During the question and answer session that ensued, a number of issues were clarified/explained by the Chief Constable and the Local Policing Area Commander.  This included clarification on the number of reports of modern slavery in South Bucks and the number of prosecutions that had resulted.   

In response to a concern raised regarding what was being done to tackle  trespasses, unauthorised incursions and encampments on public and privately owned land, the Chief Constable updated Members on the work being done with partners to deal with this issue.  This included the creation of a Memorandum of Understanding with partners which would set out points of contact and areas of responsibilities.  

Following a question regarding how long it takes for the police to attend an incident, during rush hour, when travelling from Taplow to Amersham to attend, the Chief Constable explained that there were police officers based on the streets who could respond. The Chief Constable reassured Members that response times were monitored to ensure that they were keeping up with standards. 

With regards to the issue of co-locating, the Chief Constable updated members with the work being done to enable officers to work remotely from partner locations in the future.

Following a concern raised regarding the closing of Iver Police Station and the subsequent reduction of Constables and PCSOs in Iver, the Chief Constable explained that the change in the number of Constables and PCSOs was due to change in the operating model.  Having set out the rationale behind the change in the operating model, the Chief Constable reassured Members that the changes still involved a commitment to neighbourhood policing.  He further advised that the closing of Iver Police Station had nothing to do with the new operating model.

In response to a question regarding the amount of time it was taking to answer 101 calls, the Chief Constable explained that due to the increase in the number of both emergency and non-emergency calls and the need to prioritise emergency calls, the time taken to answer non-emergency calls had slightly increased.  The Chief Constable assured Members that work was being carried to improve the situation which included looking into the possibility of online reporting for certain information.  In response to a question regarding the use of ‘Robocop’, the Chief Constable explained that this was not something that would be introduced anytime soon.

Following a comment regarding the benefits of introducing  average speed cameras along dangerous A roads, the Chief Constable whilst recognising the benefits of using average speed cameras, explained that the current priority was to update existing cameras from wet film to digital film.

The Chairman then thanked the Chief Constable and Police Area Commander for coming to the meeting and answering Members’ questions.

a)     Chairman’s Announcements

The Chairman congratulated Councillor Damian Saunders on being elected as Councillor for Beaconsfield North Ward, at the by-election held on 2 November 2017, and Members welcomed Councillor Saunders to the Council.

The Chairman thanked Kully Tumber, the Council’s Democratic and Electoral Services Manager, who will be leaving the Council in a few weeks, for all her hard work and dedication over the last 15 years.  Members also expressed their thanks and agreed that she would be greatly missed.

The Chairman advised Members of the new fundraising project for the Chairman’s Charity which involved working with Buckinghamshire Mind to raise awareness of mental health issues in infant schools across the District.

The Chairman reported on recent functions and events she had attended on behalf of the Council which included:

b)     Announcements from the Leader of the Council

There were no announcements from the Leader of the Council.

c)      Announcements from the Head of Paid Service

There were no announcements from the Head of Paid Service.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 19 July 2017 and 19 October 2017

The minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 19 July 2017 and 19 October 2017 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer questions (if any) from

(a)        Members of the Council; and

(b)       Members of the public

which have been put under Procedure Rules 9 and 10.

No questions had been received under Council Procedure Rule 10.

To note any appointments made under delegated authority.

Full Council received a report which updated Members on the appointments made to committees and outside bodies.

RESOLVED that

1)      the Council appointments to committees and outside bodies which have been made under delegated authority by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council as shown in bold below be noted:

2)      the Executive appointments which have been made under delegated authority by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council as shown in bold below be noted:

3)      the appointments to Policy Advisory Groups made by the Leader of the Council in accordance with the Constitution as shown in bold below be noted:

4)      the representation on working and information groups in accordance with their respective Terms of Reference as shown in bold below be noted:

To receive the minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 11 September 2017 and 7 November 2017 (to follow) and to consider the recommendation(s) in the minutes of which a report has been published below.

The Leader, Councillor Naylor, presented the minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 11 September and 7 November 2017.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the 11 September and 7 November 2017 be received.

At the Cabinet meeting held on 7 November 2017, Cabinet received a report regarding the new provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and accordingly resolved that:-

1)     the new provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 be noted;

2)     authority be delegated to the Head of Healthy Communities to enforce the provisions of the Act and the Scheme of Delegations be amended accordingly;

3)     the Head of Healthy Communities be authorised to agree the final Housing Enforcement Policy in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, having regard to members’ comments and the regulations in respect of Banning Orders, once published.

Following Cabinets decision to delegate authority to the Head of Healthy Communities to enforce the provisions of the Act,  Full Council were asked to agree that the scheme of delegation in the Constitution be updated to reflect this delegation. 

It  was moved by Councillor Read, seconded by Councillor Naylor and

RESOLVED that the scheme of delegation in the Constitution be updated to reflect the fact that authority has been delegated to the Head of Healthy Communities to enforce the provisions of the Act.

Full Council received a report which advised Members on new statutory requirements for the Council to prepare and publish a Brownfield Land Register for South Bucks District.  Full Council noted that the Portfolio Holder, following the PAG meeting on 7 September 2017, agreed the draft Register for consultation and that the Cabinet had agreed at its meeting on 7 November 2017 to delegate the publication of the final Register, together with any future updates, to the Head of Sustainable Development in consultation with the Portfolio Holder. 

Full Council were asked to consider the Cabinet’s recommendation that the decision to enter land in Part 2 of the Register be delegated to the Planning Committee and dealt with under the Scheme of Officer Delegations in the same way as planning applications and that the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to amend the Council’s Constitution to reflect the new Brownfield Land Register functions and associated delegations. 

It was moved by Councillor Read, seconded by Councillor Naylor and

RESOLVED that

1)     the decision to enter land in Part 2 of the Register be delegated to the Planning Committee and dealt with under the Scheme of Officer Delegations in the same way as planning applications; and

2)     the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to amend the Council’s Constitution to reflect the new Brownfield Land Register functions and associated delegations.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 28 September 2017.

The minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 28 September 2017 were presented.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2017 be received.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Governance & Electoral Arrangements Committee held on 18 July 2017 and 27 September 2017.

The minutes of the meeting of the Governance and Electoral Arrangements Committee held on 18 July and 27 September 2017 were presented.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on 18 July and 27 September 2017 be received.

The Council noted that the Licensing Committee meeting which was scheduled for 3 October 2017 was cancelled.

Full Council noted that the Licensing Committee meeting which was scheduled for 3 October 2017 was cancelled. 

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 October 2017.

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 October 2017 were presented.

With regards to item 18 (Review of Homelessness Management Report), the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee thanked Cllr Bastiman (Chairman of the Task and Finish Group), Members of the Task and Finish Group and all the officers involved for the quality of the work produced and for taking the time to address the important issues raised in the review.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2017 be received.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on:

The minutes of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 12 July, 9 August, 6 September and 4 October 2017 were presented.

RESOLVED that the minutes be received.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Staffing Committee held on 11 October 2017.

The minutes of the meetings of the Joint Staffing Committee held on 11 October 2017 were presented.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2017 be received.

The Council was required to publish a pay policy statement each year. Members considered the recommendation of the Joint Staffing Committee meeting held on 11 October 2017 that the Pay Policy Statement 2017/18 be adopted.

It was moved by Councillor Naylor , seconded by Councillor Read and

RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement 2017/18 be adopted.

To receive reports from members:

The meeting received the following members reports:

-        Dr Matthews – Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee – Update July 2017

-        Mr Pepler – Meeting of the Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust held on 26 July 2017.

Full Council received a report which asked Members to agree a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) for the Chairman of Governance & Electoral Arrangements Committee following consultation with the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP).

Full Council noted that the IRP had been consulted and had recommended that the appropriate level of SRA would be that formerly paid to the chairman of Personnel Committee and currently paid to the chairman of the Audit Committee. In making this recommendation they noted that chairmanship of Governance & Electoral Arrangements Committee would involve chairing  meetings on an ad hoc basis depending on business arising and would not involve any additional statutory responsibilities or a requirement to chair sub-committees/task and finish groups. They considered that these responsibilities could be distinguished from the chairmanship of Planning Committee which meets monthly with a requirement to attend site visits and authorise some regulatory processes; Licensing Committee which includes chairing hearing sub-committees and authorising some regulatory processes and Overview & Scrutiny Committee which includes chairing task and finish groups and a statutory role in respect of urgency procedures. Accordingly the IRP considered the special responsibilities of the chairman of Governance & Electoral Arrangements Committee were more comparable to chairing the former Personnel Committee.

It was moved by Councillor Smith, seconded by Councillor Gibbs and

RESOLVED that having regard to the recommendation of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), the level of Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) for the Chairman of Governance & Electoral Arrangements Committee be set at £722 which is the level that was formerly paid to the chairman of Personnel Committee and is currently paid to the Chairman of the Audit Committee. 

Consideration was given to the report arising from the Local Land Charge Service Shared Service Review which was the final shared service review to be considered.

It was moved by Councillor Gibbs, seconded by Councillor Smith and

RESOLVED that

1)      the business case for sharing a Local Land Charge Service is proven, and that both Councils should proceed to establish a Shared Local Land Charge Service;

2)      subject to consultation with staff and a formal agreement between the Councils, the services of staff in South Bucks District Council’s Local Land Charge Service be put at the disposal of Chiltern District Council under Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 so they can work across the two local authority areas; and

3)      the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Leader and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to finalise the terms of any legal documentation required to give effect to resolution 2 above.

The Chairman to move the following resolution:-

"That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the 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 Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act."

RESOLVED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act Paragraphs