Meeting documents

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Honorary Aldermen E H Collins, M Oram and Mrs K M Peatey MBE. Councillors: Z Ahmed, M C Appleyard, Mrs L M Clarke OBE, R Farmer, M A Hashmi, C Harriss, A Hussain, S Saddique, Mrs J Teesdale and N Teesdale.    

The Chairman announced a change to the order of the business within the agenda by bringing forward the Motion at agenda item 18, which would now be taken immediately after the public question.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 5 October 2015

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 5 October 2015, be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the addition of members of 332 (HW) Squadron Air Training Corps listed as those present, under the Chairman`s announcement item 42(iii).

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.

No declarations of interest were received.

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

The Chairman listed and reported upon some of the activities since the last meeting of the Council. A total number of 38 activities had been undertaken, 7 of which had been attended by the Vice- Chairman of the Council. The events included:

i)             Sir Steve Redgrave Bursary Event held on 7 October

ii)            St John`s Ambulance Annual Review and Presentation of Awards on 8 October

iii)           Armed Forces Community Covenant Conference on 4 November in London

iv)           Wreath Laying at the War Memorial on 11 November

v)            Re opening of Wycombe Museum on 2 December

vi)           Wendy Guy Funeral Service. (Wife of Ex Cllr Steve Guy). The Chairman had sent a letter of condolence on the Council`s behalf.

vii)         Festive Post Office Delivery Office Visit.   

Written questions may be asked of the Leader or any Cabinet member, if submitted by 12 noon on Thursday 10 December 2015.  Questions will be submitted in the order in which they are received.

A questioner will have a maximum of 1 minute to ask a question, and the answer shall not exceed 3 minutes. Any questioner may put one supplementary question without notice within a maximum time of 1 minute and the answer may not exceed 2 minutes.

(a) Question from Dr S Rybak to the Leader of the Council

"The Cabinet briefing paper on refugees states that discussions are on-going between Wycombe District Council and the South East Strategic Migration Partnership, Buckinghamshire County Council and other agencies. The paper also stresses repeatedly the need for consultation and collaboration with the Home Office, the NHS, the Department for Work and Pensions, Thames Valley Police and voluntary and statutory agencies covering education, social care, benefits, counselling and translation.

Please would you tell us what substantive work on preparing a refugee resettlement strategy WDC has carried out with each of these bodies and what progress has been made in the ten weeks since the last Council meeting?"

Response from Councillor Ms K Wood (Leader of the Council)

"We have been working tirelessly on this matter. The Government has recently clarified the funding that is available for the Syrian refugees beyond the first year. Officers are working with colleagues within Buckinghamshire and are currently working through the financial model which is not straightforward. The Government would prefer a countywide approach which is also being discussed with partners."

No supplementary question was asked.

The following motion was referred from the last Council meeting to Cabinet:

"In the light of the Syrian refugee crisis and announcement by the Government to take 20,000 refugees between now and 2020, this Council resolves to take a minimum of 200 refugees in the first batch of 10,000 that will be in over the next few months"

In accordance with Standing Order 12.7, Cabinet is required to report back to Full Council by way of a recommendation on whether the motion should be adopted or "give any such other advice as is appropriate".

Cabinet considered the motion at their meeting on Monday 16^th November, and the recommendation was that the motion should be submitted to Council at its meeting on 14 December for debate and consideration. Attached on page 71 of the agenda is the report that was considered at the Cabinet meeting.

Full Council is invited to consider Cabinet’s recommendation and to debate the motion.

Standing Order 14.20 sets out the order of debate on the motion at the Council meeting, as follows:

·         The mover of the Motion shall speak first

·         The Chairman of Cabinet (as Chairman of the body reporting back on the Motion) shall speak.

·         The matter is then open to debate

The following motion was referred from the last Council meeting to Cabinet.

In accordance with Standing Order 12.7 Cabinet reported back to Council by way of a recommendation, which stated that the motion should be submitted to Council for debate and further consideration.  The Chairman set out the order of the debate in accordance with Standing order 14.20.  

The Motion was proposed by Councillor K Ahmed and seconded by Councillor R Raja. 

"In the light of the Syrian refugee crisis and announcement by the Government to take 20,000 refugees between now and 2020, this Council resolves to take a minimum of 200 refugees in the first batch of 10,000 that will be in over the next few months"

In proposing the motion, Cllr K Ahmed stated that the matter of acceptance of at least 200 refugees in the district was not a party political matter but one of humanity. He emphasised that a quarter of a million innocent people had been killed in Syria to date in the last four or so years, the equivalent of a Paris massacre every day. Furthermore those who had fled to refugee camps were dying from hunger, from blizzards and disease. He stressed that neighbouring host countries could not cope and that it was now our turn to offer refuge and as a matter of urgency.

Councillor Ahmed went on to say that since the last meeting of Council, the Leader had received a letter from Richard Harrington, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to urge the Council to play its part, and to set out the funding arrangements for a 5 year time period. Letters of support had also been received from religious leaders, in mosques, churches and synagogues.

The seconder of the Motion, Councillor R Raja reserved his right to speak until later in the debate.

The Leader of the Council responded by saying that she supported Government initiatives in place to help alleviate the suffering being endured by the Syrians. The Council was working with the appropriate agencies, for example the County Council, Health Authority and the Police. 

The Leader went onto explain that although she fully appreciated that this was a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale, she also understood the extent of the services that would be required. She explained that it would be unfair on those homeless within Wycombe who had been on the waiting list for many years in some cases, to be informed that they had now been placed behind refugee families. She stated that the Council was working hard to reduce the numbers on the waiting lists but that this would take time. In the meantime her responsibility had to be to existing residents and on that basis she could not support the motion.  

Councillor A R Green rose to speak, echoing the sentiment expressed by the Leader of the Council. He stated that this issue was an important and emotive one, which needed to be handled in a non- emotive way. He stated that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

Questions to the Leader or any Cabinet Members must be submitted by 12 noon on Thursday 10 December 2015. 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 questions have been received. Every Member asking an oral question is permitted to ask one supplementary question without notice provided that it does not introduce any new matter. The appropriate Member will respond to any questions remaining unanswered at the expiry of 30 minutes in writing.

Any questions 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 R Raja to the Leader of the Council

"How is that in a prosperous town like High Wycombe we have above average levels of child poverty in Micklefield, Bowerdean, Disraeli and Castlefield where from a quarter to a third of the children live in poverty.

Would the leader agree that this is a serious concern for WDC and if so what action is being proposed to alleviate officially defined child poverty in High Wycombe?"

Response from Councillor Ms K Wood (Leader of the Council)

"Bucks County Council lead on this work and have developed a Child Poverty Strategy. The Council participates fully in relevant partnership work to tackle child poverty locally.  We play an active role by:

·         referring relevant families to Families First and Resilience for intensive support

·         actively participating in wellbeing and health projects in deprived neighbourhoods such as Active Bucks, community organising, and return to work projects

·         funding  a Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme and providing grants to advice organisations such as CAB

·         working with partners on a wide variety of initiatives such as the Credit Union, debt awareness advice, workshops for young people on managing money

·         and many others.

Supplementary Question

"Could you give an indication of when child poverty is to be eradicated and what is the timescale for this.

Supplementary Response

"It is Bucks CC that lead on this so it is not for me to say. You are welcome to contact the Authority yourself, or I can put you in touch with the officer concerned."

(b) Question from Councillor M Knight to the Cabinet Member for Housing

"Could you give an update on the latest figures on assessed housing need in the district and outline the council's strategy for ensuring that this need is met??"

Response from Councillor Mrs J Langley (Cabinet Member for Housing)

"I am not ducking the question, though directed to myself as the Cabinet Member for Housing, it does, I feel, relate directly to the local plan and the Housing, Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) of which Planning are taking the lead.

As housing need numbers are located and provided in the HEDNA with the local plan being devised to meet this need.

I would like to refer the matter to my colleague Cllr Johncock the Cabinet Member for Planning and ask him to supply you with a written response on these figures in due course, as the HEDNA Assessment work progresses. I will at the same time ensure you have a written response to your supplementary question also this evening."

Supplementary Question

"Over the past few months I have been inundated with requests for support with Housing and in particular I am having a lot of contact from people who are losing private tenancies. Having looked back I can’t see that there has been any significant investment in social or affordable housing over the past 40 years.

Do you agree with me that Wycombe District is in a serious  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

(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 Monday 7 December 2015.

(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 the Council will debate the matter for a maximum of 15 minutes and decide how to respond to the petition)

No petitions were received by the deadline of Monday 7 December.

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

Cabinet                      16 November 2015

Special Cabinet       14 December 2015 (To Follow)

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 16 November 2015 be received, and the recommendations as set out at minute numbers 43 and 48 be approved and adopted.

(Minute number 41 Cabinet recommendation on the Motion submitted to Council on 5 October was taken under (Motions) agenda item 18.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Special Cabinet meeting held on 14 December 2015, be received and the recommendations as set out in minute number 56 be approved and adopted.

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

Improvement & Review Commission                   11 November 2015             

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Improvement & Review Commission held on 11 November 2015 be received

Audit Committee                  19 November 2015

In the absence of the Chairman Councillor Peart rose to present the minutes. He took the opportunity to elaborate on some of the main issues that were discussed at the meeting, many of which were on going and would be reported upon further at the next Audit Committee meeting.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 19 November 2015 be received.

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

High Wycombe Town Committee                         24 November 2015             

Minute 23 – Review of Cemetery Fees and Charges 2016/17

The Chairman of the Committee clarified that the proposed increase relating to Saturday burials amounted to an additional £143.57 to take account of standby costs. It was noted that this item was a recommendation to Cabinet.

Another Member queried this stating that there would have to be an assumption that last year`s figures would be the same as the current year. It was confirmed by the Chairman that this was a reasonable assumption to make and that costs could be reviewed should the numbers be vastly different in the ensuing year.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the High Wycombe Town Committee held on 24 November 2015 be received.

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

Licensing Committee                      12 November 2015

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 12 November 2015 be received and the recommendation as set out at minute number 10 be approved and adopted.

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

Planning Committee                       23 September 2015

Planning Committee                       21 October 2015

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 23 September and 21 October 2015 be received.

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

Personnel & Development Committee    30 November 2015 (To Follow)

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Personnel & Development Committee held on 30 November 2015 be received and the recommendations as set out at minute numbers 50 and 51 be approved and adopted.

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

Regulatory & Appeals Committee                         2 November 2015

(Special) Regulatory & Appeals Committee        7 December 2015 (To Follow)      

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Regulatory & Appeals Committee held on 2 November 2015 be received and the recommendations as set out at minute number 10 be approved and adopted.

Minute 15 – Questions at Council and Petitions Scheme

A Member raised an objection to the recommendation relating to the deadline for questions to be submitted to Council. She believed that an increase from 3 to 5 days made it more difficult for opposition Members to hold the ruling party to account. In addition she stated that the proposed amendment to Standing Orders relating to asking of a question within a 6 month period also obstructed the democratic process as it prevented the request for constant updated information on a particular subject matter.

The Member concerned also believed that the change in the Petition Scheme would mean that a very important petition, affecting a small number of people could not now be lodged.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Special meeting of the Regulatory & Appeals Committee held on 7 December be received and the recommendations as set out at minute number 15 be approved and adopted. 

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

Standards Committee                     13 October 2015

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 13 October 2015 be received, and the recommendations as set out at minute number 12 be approved and adopted.

Wrights Meadow Board of Trustees – Councillor M Clarke be appointed to serve as the Wycombe District Council representative until July 2019.

Shopmobility Management Committee – Councillor Mrs J Teesdale to be replaced by Councillor A Hill.

Wycombe Almshouse Trust – Councillor A Hill to be replaced by Councillor A Baughan.

The following changes made to Outside Bodies as set out in the summons were noted.

Wrights Meadow Board of Trustees – Cllr M Clarke was appointed to serve as WDC representative.

Shopmobility Management Committee – Cllr A Hill replaced Cllr Mrs J Teesdale

Wycombe Almshouse Trust – Cllr Baughan replaced Cllr A Hill.

To receive details of any written questions submitted before the deadline fo 12 noon on Thursday 10 December 2015.

In accordance with Standing Order 11.2, the following question and answer was circulated in writing to all Members of the Council at the meeting, and would be included in the Minutes of the meeting. No discussion took place.

Question from Councillor Ms J Wassell to the Cabinet Member for Economic Development & Regeneration

"I would be grateful for a further update about the future use of the Old Library, Queen Victoria Road and the Reggie Goves Centre.  I am aware that I asked about this a few months ago, however I am asking in the hope there is some further progress?"

Written response from Councillor R Wilson (Cabinet Member for Economic Development & Regeneration)

The Old Library is BCC property. We would suggest contacting Buckinghamshire County Council direct for an indication of their plans regarding the building.

In respect of the Reggie Goves Building I can inform you that it is in solicitors’ hands with an Agreement for Lease close to completion, for letting to a large restaurant, aimed at strengthening the evening/nigh time offer of the cluster of pubs and restaurants in Paul's Row.

RESOLVED: That the above question and answer be noted.

The following individual decisions have been published since the last ordinary meeting of the Council held on 5 October 2015.

(a)  Upgrade of the existing play area at Saunderton Lodge

(b)  Appointment of the Leader`s Policy Advisory Group

(c)  Disposal of the Council`s freehold interest in the car park and the public conveniences at Finings Road Lane End to the Lane End Parish Council

The individual decisions published since the last meeting of the council were noted.  

The Chairman took the opportunity to wish the whole Council a very Happy Christmas and New Year.  In the spirit of the occasion the Chairman and Vice Chairman invited everyone present to join them for festive refreshments including red and white wine, orange juice and mince pies at the close of the meeting.