Meeting documents

     COUNCIL

     Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on

     5 January 1998

PRESENT

Cllr Mrs F W Alexander (in the Chair)

Cllr R W A Barber 

Cllr Mrs E M Barratt JP

Cllr C D Bates

Cllr S R Billingham

Cllr J M Blanksby

Cllr I B Campbell

Cllr J M Campbell

Cllr P J Cartwright

Cllr Mrs L M Clarke

Cllr D J Coe

Cllr I M Coleman

Cllr A D Collingwood

Cllr E H Collins

Cllr R B Colomb

Cllr D A E Cox

Cllr D E Done

Cllr Mrs K M Draper

Cllr A Dunn

Cllr C J Elliott

Cllr D G Fieldhouse

Cllr Mrs J E Gabbitas

Cllr A Gielgud

Cllr S H Graham

Cllr D A B Green

Cllr Mrs E Hall

Cllr Mrs A E Hardy

Cllr P J Herschel

Cllr A E Hill

Cllr M D Huddy

Cllr Miss B M Hughes

Cllr R W Jennings

Cllr Mrs E M Lay

Cllr Mrs V A Letheren

Cllr Miss D A Lewis

Cllr Mrs C C Martens

Cllr Mrs C E Mill

Cllr P J Moore

Cllr A R Mountford

Cllr R J Nagle

Cllr C B Oliver

Cllr Mrs P I O=Rourke

Cllr M B Oram

Cllr Mrs K M Peatey MBE JP

Cllr B R Pollock

Cllr J W Preston

Cllr Mrs P Priestley

Cllr R C Pushman

Cllr Mrs J Riddington

Cllr Mrs B J Sadler

Cllr D A C Shakespeare

Cllr A J Tanner

Cllr Mrs J E Teesdale

Cllr N P Vickery

Cllr Mrs J S R Waite

(Apologies for absence were received from Councillors L Ali, D J Carroll, A A Dunford, B T A Holland and A P T Stone)

1.     MINUTES

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 13 October 1997 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

2.     CHAIRMAN=S ANNOUNCEMENTS

(a) Seasons Greetings

The Chairman welcomed the Members of the Council with her best wishes for 1998.

(b) Councillor Mrs K M Draper

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Mrs Margaret Draper to the Council and expressed the hope that she would find the work of the Council of interest.

(c) Charter Marks

The Chairman referred to her visit with officers to the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 1 December 1997 to receive Charter Marks presented in respect of the Council=s Cashiers Section, Community Call Service and Building Control Service.

Presentations were then made to representatives of these services together with highly commended awards to the Council=s North of the District Office, Sports Development and Community Safety Services.

(d) Miss Megan Riddington

Members were informed that Miss Megan Riddington, daughter of Councillor Mrs Janet Riddington was fund raising in connection with her proposed visit to Tanzania to assist with health care in that country.  The Chairman requested Members to support Miss Riddington=s fund raising efforts and to purchase raffle tickets which were being circulated amongst Members and officers.

(e) Ramadan

The Chairman drew attention to an explanatory note included in the Members= despatch concerning Ramadan which she hoped Members would find of interest.

(f) Wycombe Youth Council

The Chairman referred to her visit to Budapest in October 1997 with the former Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Wycombe Youth Council, and referred to the positive benefits which had resulted from this visit.

(g) Local Government Association

The Chairman drew Members= attention to a letter circulated by Sir  Jeremy Beecham, Chairman of the Local Government Association which outlined the role and duties of the Local Government Association.  The Chairman of the Council urged all Members to acquaint themselves with the contents of this letter.  

(h) Inclement Weather - 3/4 January 1998

The Chairman informed Members that a small amount of damage had occurred in the District following the very high winds and heavy rain which had occurred over the weekend.

3.     POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE

The Minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 8 December 1997 were submitted.  

The Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee extended to Members his best wishes for 1998.

Minute No. 57 - Audit Management Letter 1996/97

A Member drew attention to the cost in officers= time of answering questions submitted under Standing Order 9.1.2 during 1996/97, and questioned whether value for money was obtained from this exercise.  Another Member questioned the quality of the answers given to questions and suggested the proposed investigation include the cost of providing more informative and detailed responses to those normally given.

It was agreed that an investigation would be made into the current system to determine whether any alternative course of action was considered necessary.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 8 December 1997 be received.

4.     HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

The Minutes of the meeting of the Housing and Economic Development Committee held on 3 November 1997 were submitted.

Minute No. 37 - Notice of Motion to Council No. 1 Re: Difficulties faced by retailers in High Wycombe as a result of high car parking charges and the introduction of positive parking

Concern was expressed by some Members at the recent comments made in the Bucks Free Press concerning traders in High Wycombe.  It was felt by these Members that the traders had held discussions with the Council for a considerable time over the problems they were suffering with loss of trade, and suggested that the Council should take notice and act on the problems identified.

Other Members felt that only a certain amount of detail was reported in the press and discussions with traders led them to the view that the current situation was not as serious as outlined, and that a positive upbeat picture needed to be painted.  Car parking usage was increasing, a growth in restaurant provision was taking place and more people were visiting the town.  With this in mind it was emphasised that it was necessary to ensure that appropriate transportation arrangements were in place.

Some Members in accepting that the introduction of residents= parking had generally been working satisfactorily, re-emphasised the frailty of High Wycombe at the present time and the need to continue dialogue with the business community and be sympathetic to its problems.  It was pointed out that in a few years time after the completion of the Western Sector Development the trading position of High Wycombe would have changed and currently the administrative improvements to the various Council car parks had been successful.  Continuing discussions with the County Council regarding the various transportation issues in High Wycombe should continue.

A Member reminded the Council that at the last meeting of the Wycombe Joint Transportation Strategy Panel, the County Council=s representatives had listened to the concerns of the District Council Members and that a special meeting of the Panel was to be held devoted to the review of the Special Parking Area.

Minute No. 38 - Notice of Motion to Council No. 2 - CCTV in Marlow

The Council was advised that a feasibility study was currently taking place in relation to the contents of this Notice of Motion, and this was the principal reason why the Notice of Motion had not been supported by the Housing and Economic Development Committee.

A Member expressed his disappointment with the decision of the Committee, and indicated that as a local member his comments on the proposal had not been invited.  The Chairman of the Housing and Economic Development Committee agreed to investigate this.

The decision to include ,420,000 as a capital sum was welcomed, although it was emphasised that the contents of the Notice of Motion had in effect been overtaken by events.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Housing and Economic Development Committee held on 3 November 1997 be received, and the recommendations contained therein be approved and adopted.

5.     COMMUNITY AND LEISURE COMMITTEE

The Minutes of the meeting of the Community and Leisure Committee held on 10 November 1997 were submitted.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Community and Leisure Committee held on 10 November 1997 be received.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 17 November 1997 were submitted.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 17 November 1997 be received.

7.     QUESTIONS UNDER STANDING ORDER 9.1.2

AWould you indicate how much financial support Wycombe District Council provided in funding the educational trip of the Joint Chairmen of the High Wycombe Youth Council and the Chairman of the Council to attend the AEurope >2000' : Young People and their Towns@ conference in Budapest?@

Answer from the Chairman of Policy and Resources Committee

AThe Chairman of Council originally invited the Chairman of the Youth Council to accompany her to Hungary for the AEurope 2000: Young People and their Towns@ conference in Budapest.  The Youth Service advised that 2 young people should go instead of 1 and therefore the Vice-Chairman of the Youth Council was invited too.

There was no charge for the conference itself.  The Chairman paid for her own expenses.  Of the remainder, board and accommodation for the youth councillors cost ,174, their flights and insurances and travel to and from the airport cost ,500, total ,674.

This Council=s Community Development Budget which also funds the Youth Council provided ,320, and the remainder is to be grant aided by the County Council=s Youth Service@.

Answer from the Chairman of the Community and Leisure Committee

The matter of income is a confidential matter being the subject of a contract between the Council and the fairground operator. Being a commercial booking, the Council=s officers have delegated powers to negotiate the most favourable income to the Council and releasing this information would be prejudicial to future fair bookings within the district.  However, I have instructed the officers to inform Councillor Colomb of the income information he has requested.

The expenses incurred by the Council were no greater for this booking than for other similar new events on open spaces.  No overtime was booked and all other matters including the time taken to deal with complaints received by the Leisure Directorate were attended to as part of the officers= normal working day.  However, additional time was spent by Officers in connection with the production of the subsequent report to the Community and Leisure Panel meeting on 25 November 1997.

Answer from the Chairman of the Housing and Economic Development Committee

The point was made in the Information Sheet that unemployment levels in Booker and Castlefield are twice as high as those for the District and are not reducing as quickly as those for the District.

The figures for the last six months, which Councillor Colomb quotes, show a worsening of this situation with unemployment in Booker and Castlefield only reducing by 5.8% as compared with 14.6% for the District.

As unemployment levels reduce, skill shortages in the jobs market start to appear with a resulting increase in vacancies.  This further reinforces the importance of the training courses and facilities being provided as part of the Castlefield Challenge so that opportunities to acquire new skills with the resulting increased job potential are made available to the residents of Castlefield.

At this early stage much of this money has been spent on putting in place the various training initiatives, community and steering groups that are required to support the Challenge.

One full-time permanent job has been created.  Five residents have accessed employment through training advice.  Two young people have benefited from projects promoting personal and social development.  Two voluntary organisations and eleven community groups have been supported.  Forty individuals are now involved in voluntary work and six new child care places have been provided@.

In receiving the report of the Monitoring Officer, Members were reminded that subsequent case law had established that the Council decision on the above subject taken on 23 September 1991 was unlawful.

A Member asked if any of the leases agreed since this date were affected by this decision and it was noted that there were no cases.

RESOLVED: (i) That Part (i) of the resolution of the Council at Minute 40 of the proceedings of the Council meeting held on 23 September 1991 be rescinded; and

(ii) that no action be taken to enforce any clause inserted in a lease pursuant to that Minute.

9.     NOTICE OF MOTION - MOTION NO. 1

The following Notice of Motion was formally proposed by Councillor Mrs C C Martens and seconded by Councillor E H Collins:

AWild Mammals (Hunting with Dogs) Bill@

The above Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons in November 1997 and gained considerable support from MPs.

In order for the content of the Bill and its full implications to be considered properly and so that the strong feelings of people in this District and others may be properly and democratically represented and voted upon, this Council urges the Government to find the time necessary for this Bill to progress to the next stage@.

Prior to the proposer introducing the Notice of Motion a Member asked under Standing Order 7.1 if the Notice of Motion was relevant to the work of the Council.  The District Solicitor reminded Members of the large tracts of agricultural land in the District where hunting could take place and given the contents of the Monitoring Officer=s report in the previous item and the effect of the Bill if passed, he had considered the Notice of Motion relevant to the Council=s powers and duties.

In presenting the Notice of Motion, the proposer referred to the strong feelings of residents in the District over a number of years in connection with this matter, although she emphasised that the cruelty aspects were not part of the Motion, nor was the issue of rural employment.  She considered that it was not beyond the power of a civilised community to find an alternative practice to hunting via an evolutionary process as had happened with other sports.

The Notice of Motion was formally seconded by Councillor E H Collins.

It was duly proposed and seconded under the provisions of Standing Order 7.5, that the Notice of Motion be determined at the meeting.  On this proposal being put to the meeting a majority voted in favour.

Some Members commented that this issue was not the most important affecting the residents of the District, and although emotive, questioned how much parliamentary time would be taken up due to the Government=s ambitious programme.  In view of the fact that ministers would be proposing amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, some Members felt it was inappropriate for the Council to be discussing this matter at this time.   It was suggested that it was difficult to assess the public support for this Bill and that in the circumstances comments should be directed by the public to their Members of Parliament.

Members spoke in favour and against the Notice of Motion, some drawing attention to the fact that the Motion only sought to urge the Government to find time necessary for the Wild Mammals (Hunting with Dogs) Bill to progress to the next stage.  It was pointed out that  the Government had accepted the principle of this Bill, but had not debated the contents in detail.  A majority of MPs wished the Bill to succeed, and it was felt that the Government could find time to discuss the Bill without detriment to other issues.  The support of the Council as set out in the Notice of Motion was felt to be an important part of this process.

In responding to the comments expressed, the proposer thanked Members for their views and felt that support was growing for this issue including the support of young people in the District who were anxious about the moral issues involved.

On the Notice of Motion being put to the vote, 28 voted in favour, 19 against with 7 abstentions.

RESOLVED:  That the Notice of Motion as set out be supported and approved

10.     NOTICE OF MOTION - MOTION NO. 2

The following Notice of Motion was formally proposed by Councillor Mrs P Priestley and seconded by Councillor A Dunn:

AThis Council calls upon the Labour Government to reconsider as a matter of urgency its hasty and ill thought-out legislation banning beef on the bone from being sold in our butchers= shops, thus denying the public any freedom of choice.  Not only is it causing untold distress to the farmers, butchers and consumers in this District, but it is impractical and expensive for our Environmental Health Officers to enforce@.

In presenting the Notice of Motion the proposer suggested that the views of the present Government were biased towards Aurban@ areas, and that the risk involved arising from banning beef on the bone from being sold in butchers= shops was minute.  A risk existed in all walks of life, and the proposer was critical that the Government had only allowed a four day consultation period for its proposals.  If the Government felt obliged to introduce a ban, the decision to implement this at the point of sale was criticised as it was felt that it would have been easier to enforce if all beef had been removed from the bone at the abattoir.  The proposer concluded that the Government=s decision would prove expensive to monitor by Environmental Health Inspectors, and was felt on balance to be hasty and poorly thought out legislation.

The Notice of Motion was formally seconded by Councillor A Dunn who informed Members that there were 20 working farms in his Ward, including substantial sheep flocks.  Few superstores would be affected by the ban, and he felt that the Government=s decision would lead to the closure of butchers= shops and reduce the choice available to the members of the public.  The task of enforcing the ban would be expensive and the seconder considered the ban as unjustified and unenforceable.

It was proposed by Councillor Mrs P Priestley, seconded by Councillor Mrs K M Peatey MBE JP that under the provisions of Standing Order 7.5, the Notice of Motion be debated at the meeting.  On this proposal being put to the vote, 23 voted in favour and 28 against.  The proposal was declared lost.  

RESOLVED: That under the provisions of Standing Order 7.5 the Notice of Motion be referred to the Planning Environment and Transportation Committee for consideration.

11.     NOTICE OF MOTION - MOTION NO. 3

The following Notice of Motion was formally proposed by Councillor R B Colomb and seconded by Councillor R W Jennings:

AIn view of the 17 tax rises imposed by the new Labour Government since 2 May 1997, the 1.25% increase in interest rates and the failure of Mr Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, to achieve the 2.5% inflation target, and despite the reduction in Central Government Grant to Wycombe District Council for the coming year, it is vital Wycombe District Council does not increase the burden of Council Tax for the year 1998/99 on the hard pressed Council Tax payers of Wycombe District. It is proposed that a special Working Group of Councillors reviews the projected revenue expenditure prior to the Council Tax meeting on 26 February 1998 and excises all non essential items.  The establishment of this special Working Group will go some way to meet the external auditors= criticism about lack of monitoring by Members within Wycombe District Council@.

In proposing his Notice of Motion, the proposer underlined that the purpose of the Motion was to give Members a structured mechanism to review expenditure in 1998/99.  He did not consider that the enormity of recent decisions taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer was being understood.  He referred to the decisions taken including delegating the Asetting of interest rates@ to the Bank of England, increase in underlying rate of inflation and rise in the headline rate of inflation, and to protect the interests of Council Tax payers in the District the proposer suggested that the setting up of a Working Group comprising 8 members appointed by Group Leaders could review in detail the 1998/99 budget proposals.  This would accord with the comments in the external auditors= management letter regarding monitoring arrangements within the Council.

In seconding the Notice of Motion, the seconder suggested that the Working Group could look at capital and revenue associated proposals.  These would include promoting industry, commerce and town centres in the District, value for money on all capital and revenue expenditure with appropriate monitoring, ensuring a happy dedicated workforce was available and supporting a modern IT programme.  He drew attention to the reduction in the economic development budget and value for money being second to political correctness resulting in criticism by the external auditors of the Council=s current monitoring arrangements.

It was duly proposed and seconded under the provisions of Standing Order 7.5, that the Notice of Motion be debated at the meeting.  On this proposal being put to the meeting a majority voted in favour.

In refuting the suggestion to set up a Working Group, the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee agreed that this would have been a good idea in 1994, but since this date various improvements had been made and in particular since 1995, cut backs in Revenue Support Grant had made Members look internally at the Council to improve matters.  Arising from this, officers had delivered savings of ,3m, and he asked why these savings had not been delivered by the previous administration.  Current savings being achieved were more transparent, and focused on improved services which was the aim of the current administration.   Responsible financial management had been introduced for car parking in the District, and together with all other services provided by the Council a sensible system to determine the Council=s budget was already in place.

Other Members outlined reasons why they considered a Working Group should be set up and suggested that some past decisions had been made in haste.  Members opposed to the setting up of a Working Group made reference to the Council being well run with sustained improvements and a satisfactory external auditors report, and reminded Council that the Policy and Resources Committee was the appropriate area to debate any policy issues.

Members supporting the setting up of the Working Group warned against complacent responses to this proposal, and felt that Members should be looking to the future and examining revenue expenditure in greater detail.  The Working Group could examine each year where Adead wood@ could be removed, and could go in to greater detail and avoid party political views.  The decision of the Buckinghamshire County Council to involve District Councils in Bucks in discussions on overall spending proposals was noted.

In responding to the comments made by Members the proposer reiterated the need for setting up an all party Working Group, and also outlined details of the increase in levels of Council Tax since 1995.

On the motion being put to the vote, 22 voted in favour and 31 against.  The motion was declared lost.

12.     REPORT OF THE RETURNING OFFICER

The Returning Officer reported that at the Bye-Election held on 30 October 1997 in the Marsh and Micklefield District Ward, Kathleen Margaret Draper of 18 Kelvin Close, High Wycombe had been duly elected as a District Councillor.

13.     COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS

The Council noted changes to the Committees as follows:-

Community and Leisure Panel - Standing Deputy - Councillor Mrs K M Draper.

Planning Applications Panel - Councillor Mrs K M Draper to fill current vacancy.

High Wycombe Town Committee - Councillor Mrs K M Draper to fill current vacancy.

Planning Applications Panel - Councillor C J Elliott to replace Councillor Mrs B J Sadler.

Planning Applications Panel - Councillor Mrs B J Sadler to become Standing Deputy.

14.     DETERMINATION OF COUNCIL TAX BASE 1998/99

Section 67 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 directed that certain functions of an authority could only be discharged by full Council.  One of these functions was the calculation of the Council Tax Base by billing authorities under Sections 33 and 34 of the Act.

The report before the Council laid down the calculations and information which was required in order for the Council to pass the necessary resolution to discharge this responsibility.  

RESOLVED: (i) That the report of the Director of Corporate Services for the calculation of the Council Tax Base for the Wycombe District Council area for 1998/99 be approved;

(ii) that pursuant to the report and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992, the amount calculated by Wycombe District Council:

(a) as its Council Tax Base for the whole of its area for the year 1998/99 shall be 64,111.98; and

(b) as the Council Tax Base for each of the parts of its area for the year 1998/99 shall be:

(The Meeting commenced at 6.30 pm and concluded at 8.58 pm)

__________

CHAIRMAN

The following officers were in attendance at the meeting:

Mr R J Cummins - Chief Executive and Director of Finance

Mr H Potts - Director of Property and Housing

Mr P F Ricketts - Director of Corporate Services

Mr W N Roberts - Director of Leisure, Health and Community

Mr C A Swanwick - Director of Planning Transport and Development

Mrs J E Clements - Head of Corporate and Committee Administration

Mr D M Dongray - District Solicitor

Mr R G Key - Principal Administrator - Committee Services Section