Meeting documents

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting of the Council held on 16 December 2013. 

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 16 December 2013 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman subject from the deletion of Honorary Alderman Mrs K M Peatey MBE from amongst the attendees.

To receive any disclosure of disclosable pecuniary interests by Members relating to items on the agenda.  If any Member is uncertain as to whether an interest should be disclosed, He or she is asked if possible to contact the District Solicitor prior to the meeting.

Members are reminded that if they are declaring an interest, they should state the nature of that interest whether or not they are required to withdraw from the meeting.

Councillor B E Pearce declared a personal interest in respect of his question 3 to Councillor N Marshall under Item 6 (Minute 82) Questions from Members, in that he lived within 150 yards of Buckmaster Road Playing Fields the subject of the said question.

In respect of the number of questions regarding Red Kite Community Housing amongst the Public and Member Questions (Minutes 81 and 82) Councillors I L McEnnis and J L Richards OBE declared a personal interest as Wycombe District Council representatives on the Executive Board of Red Kite Community Housing, whilst Councillors Ms R Knight & Mrs J E Teesdale similarly declared a personal interest in these questions as current tenants of Red Kite Community Housing.

Councillor S Graham declared an interest in Cabinet Minute 79 of the Meeting of 10 February 2014 in that he was a trustee of the Reggie Goves Centre.

All the above Members remained in the chamber during these items.

Councillor Ms J D Wassell declared a new disclosable pecuniary interest in that she had recently purchased a property within Wycombe District, declaring this in respect of the Council Tax Setting / Budget item (Minute 86), remaining in the chamber during this item and taking part in the voting and debates on such.

To receive such communication as the Chairman of the Council may wish to make.

The Chairman advised the Meeting of the considerable number of events he had been involved in since the last Full Council meeting, singling out his involvement with the Sir Steve Redgrave Bursary Awards evening when he had met many inspiring local young sportspeople. He also mentioned that on a similar sporting line, he was looking forward to the forthcoming Paralympic Torch lighting event at Stoke Mandeville in respect of the Sochi Winter Paralympics.

The Chairman handed over to Councillor Richard Scott, Leader of the Council, to give an update on the recent Flooding within the District.

The Leader commented on the extensive damage to property in Marlow, Bourne End, Medmenham, Mill End, Skirmett, Radnage and Hughenden, some had even occurred in Saunderton. The Thames had been at its highest level since 1947 added to which was an exceptionally high water table level. As a result 50 plus properties had been affected, a number of roads had been closed and a series of evacuations had taken place.

The Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service had established a mobile HQ during the floods, at Marlow, and had co-ordinated the various emergency services admirably. The District had received visits from Brandon Lewis MP (Under Secretary of State for Department of Communities and Local Government) and Dominic Grieve MP (member for Beaconsfield Constituency inclusive of Marlow and Bourne End). Councillor Scott had met with them both during the co-ordination of the emergency services responses.

The Leader wished to place on record his heartfelt thanks to all the emergency services involved, which had included the Royal Air Force and emergency fire crews from as far away as Staffordshire and Doncaster. A big thank you was also expressed to the local residents affected who had also helped extensively in the response.

Councillor Scott outlined the subsequent concessions granted in respect of flood victims; in that residents affected would receive 3 months’ council tax relief, businesses affected would similarly receive 3 months’ business rates relief and a support scheme regarding the recovery of affected businesses which had been put in place by central government.

The Leader reported on the future flood prevention schemes being put forward by the Environment Agency, however there was a funding gap, and Councillor Scott was meeting with Dominic Grieve the following day to discuss the scheme and would keep Members updated. Dialogue had occurred with Buckinghamshire County Council in respect of the appropriate gullies and drains being regularly cleared in future, whilst a more equitable scheme of sand bag distribution was being formulated to ensure in future bags were used by residents most in danger i.e. where there was the greatest need.

Written questions may be asked of the Leader or any Cabinet Member if submitted by 12 noon on Friday 21 February 2014. Questions will be submitted in the order in which they are received.

Any questioner may put one supplementary question without notice.  No question or answer may exceed 3 minutes.

(a)   Question from Dr L Derrick to the Cabinet Member for Community

In Dec 2011, WDC sold over 6000 Council homes to Red Kite.

In order to get Government approval for this sale, WDC promised the Government that "receipts from the sale would enable the Council to provide more affordable homes".  It said "affordable housing is our key priority" and that the Council anticipated "a considerable increase in affordable housing in the area. "

In order to get the tenants to vote for the sale, WDC promised the tenants that the money from the sale would be used to meet "the housing requirements of local people in housing need".

In Dec 2011, WDC received £18.5m in net receipts as a first instalment from the sale.

In July 2012, I wrote to WDC to ask how many additional homes would be provided with this 18.5m and by when.

The reply from the then Head of Homes and Housing said "The Council will be reviewing the prioritisation of reaching decisions on the allocation of all available capital resources in the autumn.  It is not therefore yet possible to provide any indication of whether the Council will directly invest some of the receipts in affordable housing or how many affordable homes might be provided."

So already, 7 months after the sale, the council had broken its promises.  From affordable housing being a key priority, WDC was now not even prepared to say that any of the receipts would be spent on affordable housing.

It is now over 2 years after the sale and I am repeating my questions. 

How many additional affordable homes has WDC built with the £18.5 million and how much has that cost?  And how many additional affordable homes does it plan to build with the £18.5 m and by when?

Response by Councillor J M Gibbs (Cabinet Member for Community)

The Council has not broken its promises. We remain strongly committed to providing affordable homes.

I note you are repeating your question from July 2012, so I would also refer you to the answer that was given to you at that time by the then Leader of the Council. The Council’s position was clearly stated in the Cabinet report, ahead of transfer, that the balance of the receipt was intended for the benefit of the wider community.

The Council has kept its promise and fully allocated the net receipt to a range of schemes contained in our approved Major Projects Programme, which will benefit the wider community.

We are dealing with affordable housing separately and the Council holds £1.7m in S106 monies for this purpose. We continue to work with registered social landlords and through the planning system to secure more affordable homes in our district. We have delivered 128 affordable homes since the transfer and will continue to provide as many as we can in the future.

Supplementary Question

Looking at Wycombe District Council’s Major Projects Programme for 2013/4 to 2017/8 - £63 million worth of spend.    £45.5  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

Questions to the Leader or any Cabinet Members must be submitted by Friday 21 February 2014. Questions will be taken first from Leaders of the political parties in order of number of Members.

Other Members will be called upon in the order in which question have been received. Every Member asking an oral question is permitted to ask one supplementary question without notice provided that it introduces no new matter. The appropriate Member will respond to any questions remaining unanswered at the expiry of 30 minutes in writing.

Any question remaining unanswered after 30 minutes will be answered within 10 working days in writing after the meeting by the appropriate Member and appended to the minutes of the meeting.

a.     Question from Councillor S F Parker to the Cabinet Member for Community

Is the cabinet member for community satisfied that, 14 months after the transfer of WDC housing stock, that  Red Kite Housing are consistently serving the best needs of their tenants?

Response from Councillor J M Gibbs (Cabinet Member for Community).

Since the transfer of the housing stock to Red Kite Community Housing in December 2011 I do believe the needs of the tenants have been exceptionally well served. Red Kite is tenant led, there are a number of tenants on the board, that board is chaired by a tenant. Tenants’ interests are paramount to Red Kite.

Supplementary Question

‘Let down’, ‘stitched up’, ‘stabbed in the back’ these I believe to be comments of a senior member of the majority group in respect of the closure of Red Kite sheltered housing. This forced closure was never part of the Red Kite deal. What measures does the Cabinet Member have in place to re-assure elderly residents utilising these facilities?

Supplementary Response

As you are aware we sat down in a cross party discussion on these matters immediately after the 10 February 2014 Cabinet meeting, where we looked in detail at 2 particular issues; sheltered housing and the community call facility. As a result we made contact with the Chief Executive of Red Kite and all Members received a full response setting out full details of the changes being implemented, a seminar outlining these and offering a suitable discussion forum (incidentally poorly attended) was held for Members. I can only go by what I hear in that these changes have been tenant led, not dictated by this Council.

Remember Wycombe District Council had been unable to reach the ‘decent homes’ standard that Red Kite now can, Red Kite regularly talk to us, we have 2 Members as board members, there are communication channels, we continue to work well and extensively with our Red Kite colleagues.

b.     Question from Councillor I Bates to the Cabinet Member for Community.

The Community Call Service is an emergency call service used by hundreds of mostly elderly and frail people in the Wycombe District Council area.  Its management was transferred by WDC along with Council Housing in 2011.  On 2 February this year the external contract provider was changed with the majority of users transferring to the new provider.  Red Kite chose at this point not to transfer 280 of the users and informed them at a month’s notice that their service was to be terminated and that they would have to make their own arrangements from then on.

Users of a service formerly administered by WDC and entrusted to Red Kite with their undertaking to continue the care have been left to fend for themselves.  Elderly and vulnerable residents who had the security and peace of mind of being able to summon assistance 24 hours a day at the pull of a cord or the push of a button were left with a piece  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

(i)                 Council to receive any petition from a member of the public or from a Councillor on behalf of a member of the public as notified by the deadline of 5pm on Thursday 20 February 2014

(ii)               Council to consider any petition already received that meets the required number of signatures to qualify for a debate by Full Council. (The petition organiser will have 5 minutes to present the petition and then Council will debate the matter for a maximum of 15 minutes and decide how to respond to the petition)

A petition was received from Councillor B E Pearce which read as follows:

‘We the undersigned feel very strongly about the proposed development to the Buckmaster Road Playing Field possibly for offices.

We feel very strongly that this should remain an open space for children to play, people to enjoy games and sports, and for dog walkers.

We believe this field is vital to act as a breathing lung for the whole area as Holmers Farm Estate is a high density housing area.’

Councillor Pearce indicated that he believed he had obtained 583 signatures.

The Chairman received the petition and commented that it would be validated against the Council’s Petitions Scheme. Members would be informed outside of the meeting how the petition would be administered once the validation had taken place.

Secretary’s Note

Following the validation of the petition outside of the meeting, in accordance with the Council’s Petitions scheme, it was considered to be a one ward issue, given that 579 signatures featured were considered as valid. This exceeded the 500 signatories required for a debate at Full Council to occur, and therefore in accordance with Standing Orders, this petition was to be scheduled for debate at the next Full Council meeting (Monday 28 April 2014).

To consider the attached report.

The Meeting had before it a short report outlining a proposed amendment to the Standing Orders of the Council regarding the requirement for recorded votes to be included in the Minutes of the Budget setting Council meeting, showing how each Member present voted, i.e. in favour, against or abstaining from voting.

This requirement being included in the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 which were laid before Parliament on 31 January 2014 and came into effect 25 February 2014.

As a result of this requirement, the proposed amendment to the appropriate standing order in the Council’s constitution was put to the Meeting and agreed, with the suggested amendment that the word ‘at’ be substituted for ‘before’ in the penultimate sentence to aid clarity.

RESOLVED: That the following paragraph be added at subsection (5) of the Council’s Standing Order 16 (Voting):

"At the Annual Budget Council Meeting, a recorded vote shall take place on decisions relating to the setting of the Budget and Council Tax. The Head of Democratic, Legal and Policy Services, or their representative, shall call upon each member present to say if that Member votes for, against, or abstains from the voting on the proposals at the meeting. This will then be set out in the Minutes of the meeting".

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Cabinet                10 February 2014

The Leader of the Council presented the minutes of the Cabinet Meeting of 10 February 2014 with the exclusion of Minute 77 (Revenue Estimates 2014/15 and Council Tax Proposals) which would be recommended to Council separately as part of the Council Tax Setting item to be presented by the Cabinet Member for Finance.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 10 February 2014 be received and the recommendations as set out at Minute numbers 75, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87 and 88 be approved and adopted.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 10 February 2014 recommend revenue estimates and the District and Parish elements of Council Tax levels for 2014/15.

Full Council is required to consider the Revenue Estimates and the District and Parish elements of Council Tax levels for 2014/15 and then to set out the full Council Tax.

Details relating to the precepts from Bucks County Council, the Thames Valley Police Authority and Bucks and Milton Keynes Fire Authority are awaited. The full report containing these details together with the Full Council Tax details across the District is therefore to follow.

Members are reminded that they must have regard to the Chief Financial Officer`s report when setting the Council Tax. 

The meeting then specifically turned to the recommendations outlined in minute number 77 of the Cabinet Minutes of 10 February 2014 (the Revenue Estimates 2014/15 and Council Tax Proposals) along with the supplements issued to this item outlining the final Parish/Town, Buckinghamshire County Council, Thames Valley Police Authority and Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority precepts and confirmation of the Formula Grant figures required in order to set Council Tax.

The Leader of the Council in introducing the Cabinet Member for Finance to make his Budget presentation, referred to the improvements in the national economic position against which this budget was to be considered; nationally job levels had increased and unemployment was slightly down, but the national deficit was still high. There were considerable future challenges the Council faced, this was a budget not for just one year but for future years. This budget had additionally been well examined by the Council’s Improvement and Review Commission’s Task and Finish Group in a challenging and professional manner.

The Leader thanked the Chief Finance Officer and Chief Executive along with the Senior Management team and the many other officers involved in the budget preparation. The Council was not allowed to run a deficit, a balanced budget was essential. The budget before the Council addressed the Council’s key issues affordably, with full regard to its legal duties, with care of the vulnerable in the community and genuine consideration of the views of the residents paramount in its formulation. As a result the Budget represented the fourth consecutive year Wycombe District Council would be freezing its Council Tax.

The Cabinet Member for Finance rose and drew Members attention to an amendment he wished Members to make to the papers before them; due to a technical error, the Band Charges featured in the final chart featured on page 10 of the Item 10 Council Tax Setting 2014-15 Supplement before them was to be changed as follows:

All figures for all parts of the Council’s Area featured in the 3^rd column marked Band C Charge were to be increased by £0.01, whilst all figures in 1^st column marked Band A Charge were also to be increased by £0.01 with the exception of the entries for High Wycombe Town and West Wycombe which were to be increased by £0.02 instead.

The Cabinet Member for Finance outlined the general fragility of the national economy, yet inflation had dropped below 2% for the first time since 2009 which was encouraging. Locally the number of businesses had increased along with some residential development, but against this employment levels locally had yet to equal the rest of the UK. The end of December had seen the lowest ever number of local residents in temporary accommodation and considerable homelessness prevention had occurred.

Transformation savings with re-engineered service delivery with the likes of the new joint waste contract, recycling and the roll out of ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) had taken place.

The new sports and leisure centre with adjacent prestige offices  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Improvement & Review Commission                   15 January 2014

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Improvement and Review Commission held on 15 January 2014 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations form the following meeting:

Audit Committee                  16 January 2014

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 16 January 2014 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

High Wycombe Town Committee             21 January 2014

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the High Wycombe Town Committee held on 21 January 2014 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Personnel & Development Committee                20 January 2014

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Personnel and Development Committee held on 20 January 2014 be received and the recommendation as set out at minute numbers 16 be approved and adopted.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meetings:

Planning Committee                       20 November 2013

Special Planning Committee         26 November 2013

Planning Committee                       18 December 2013

Planning Committee                       22 January 2014 (To Follow)                                                                    

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 20 and 26 November 2013, 18 December 2013 and  22 January 2014 be received.

To receive details of any written questions submitted before the deadline of Friday 21 February 2014.

No questions were received under Standing Order 11.2

There were no Chief Officer’s reports.

To note the following changes to Committee membership in accordance with Standing Order 18(9):

Councillors J Malliff, W J Bendyshe Brown, and Mrs J D Langley be replaced as Standing Deputies on the Planning Committee by:  Councillors Z Ahmed, Maz Hussain and Ms M Neudecker.  

Council noted the changes in Committee membership in accordance with Standing Order 18(9) as included in the agenda:

Councillors Z Ahmed, Maz Hussain and Mrs M L Neudecker to replace Councillors W J Bendyshe Brown, Mrs J D Langley and J A Malliff as standing deputies on the Planning Committee.

The following individual decisions have been published since the last ordinary meeting of the Council on 16 December 2013.

i)             Entry into negotiations with Action for Children as the successful bidder for the asset transfer of Bellfield Community House.

ii)            Allocation of Community Support Grants 2014/15  

iii)           Transfer of land and car park at Red Lion Way and land at Sappers Field

iv)           Approval of Fees and Charges Review for Environmental Health Service Area.

v)            Approval of Fees and Charges Review for Housing Service Area.

The five individual decisions published since the last meeting of the Council were listed within the summons.