Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors A Baughan, J Baum, A Christensen, A Collingwood, M Collins, P Cooper, A Cranmer, E Culverhouse, P Drayton, C Etholen, P Fealey, E Gemmell, P Griffin, G Hall, G Harris, J Jordan, P Kelly, M Knight, S Lambert, S Lewin, J MacBean, A Macpherson, I Macpherson, P Martin, N Naylor, M Rand, J Rush, J Towns, L Walsh, A Wheelhouse and A Wood.

Apologies were also received from Countess Howe, his Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and Kurshida Mirza BEM, the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

Tribute was paid to former Councillor Brian Learmount who had recently passed away. The Chairman recorded sincere condolences to his family on their sad loss and shared some of his achievements highlighting his time as the Chairman of South Bucks District Council between 1991 and 1993.

Members observed a minute’s silence in memory of Brian Learmount.

A Member raised that under item 7 of the previous meeting’s minutes, Cabinet Member reports, Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services, the final sentence should read ‘…replicating the White Ribbon campaign with the Gambling Licensing policy update’as opposed to ‘…integrating the White Ribbon campaign…’.

Councillor B Stanier raised that he had attended the previous meeting of Council, the meeting record would be updated to reflect this.

RESOLVED –

That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 17 July 2024 be approved as a correct record subject to the above amendments.

The Chairman advised that members of the High Wycombe Town Committee, the Chartered Trustees or the Standards & General Purposes Committee were not deemed as having any personal or prejudicial interest in Item 7, the High Wycombe Community Governance Review, simply because of that membership. Members were free to speak and vote on that item unless they were aware of any other circumstance that prevented them from doing so.  

In relation to item 9, Notices of Motion, any members in receipt of the winter fuel allowance during 2023/24 were advised to declare a personal interest, however this was not deemed to be prejudicial, so members were able to remain in the meeting, participate in the debate and vote. Personal interests were declared by Councillors Baldwin, Bates, Birchley, Bond, Brazier, Butcher, Carroll, B Chapple, S Chhokar, Clarke, Cornell, Darby, Dhillon, Egleton, Fayyaz, Green, Johncock, Jones, King, Newcombe, L Smith, Strachan, Summers, Tett, Thompson, Town, A Turner, Wadhwa, Wassell and K Wood.

The Chairman reported that both she and the Vice-Chairman had the pleasure of attending over 40 engagements since the last meeting of Council, a full list of which could be found appended to these minutes. The Chairman highlighted the three charities she supported, which were South Bucks Hospice, Oasis Partnership and Heart of Bucks. As part of her fundraising activities for these charities the Chairman would be performing a skydive on 28^th September 2024 and members were encouraged to donate (donate here).

The Chairman also drew attention to the passing of Paige Hall, a young Buckinghamshire resident who would be very sadly missed. The Chairman spoke of how Paige put kindness at the front and centre of all she had done raising important funds for excellent causes.

The Leader introduced the Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Plan 2024/25. The Youth Justice Plan provided details of progress made against statutory outcomes for children and young people. It outlined priorities, alongside potential future challenges for the partnership over the coming year. The Youth Justice Plan also highlighted the partnership arrangements and the latest budget position.

The Youth Justice Plan was produced in compliance with the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, in consultation with strategic partners and in line with guidance published by the Youth Justice Board (YJB). The Plan must be submitted to the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and published in accordance with the directions of the Secretary of State. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) had set three national outcome indicators which formed the baseline for performance information included within this year’s plan. These were Reduce the number of First Time Entrants (FTE) to the Youth Justice System, Reduce Re-offending; and Reduce the Use of Custody.

Should Members have had any questions on the Plan, they were invited to send these into the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services, who had sent apologies to this meeting due to illness.

RESOLVED –

That the 2024-2025 Youth Justice Plan as endorsed by Cabinet be approved.

The Leader introduced the Buckinghamshire Council Pay Policy Statement (1 July 2024). The Pay Policy Statement was provided in accordance with Section 38(1) of the Localism Act 2011 and was updated annually. The Pay Policy Statement, which covered all employees, set out Buckinghamshire Council’s policies relating to the pay of its corporate service workforce (excluding Schools employees) for the year 2024- 25; in particular the remuneration of its Chief Officers; the remuneration of its “lowest paid employees”; the relationship between the remuneration of its chief officers; and the remuneration of its employees who were not chief officers. The Leader reported no substantive changes from the statement approved the previous year.

In response to a question raised, the Leader confirmed that Teaching Assistant’s pay was subject a separate pay scale, and the Council consulted governing bodies on affordability around those associated pay increases.

RESOLVED –

That the Buckinghamshire Council Pay Policy Statement (1 July 2024) be approved.

Councillor David Goss, Chairman of the Standards and General Purposes Committee introduced the report. In August 2023, the Committee agreed to undertake a Community Governance Review of the unparished area of High Wycombe. In doing so, a cross-party Councillor Working Group of the Standards and General Purposes Committee was established to make recommendations on the scope of the review, the timeframe for it and the engagement plan for consulting upon it. In January 2024, the Committee approved the recommended Terms of Reference and formally commenced the review. A consultation and communications plan was agreed and the consultation took place earlier this year. The Committee recommended that Council adopt Option A as the outcome to the review, as set out as ‘Final Recommendations’ in Annex 1 of the report. The Committee was satisfied that this outcome best reflected the statutory criteria for such reviews. Should Council endorse the Committee’s Recommendations these then became the Council’s ‘Final Recommendations’ a term which signified the conclusion of the community governance process for this particular review.

Option A recommended that the Council should not establish a formal parish for the whole of the unparished High Wycombe area and consequently should not establish a town council. Instead, the Council should look to build on and improve the current community governance arrangements with the intention of increasing community engagement and raising the profile of High Wycombe issues and outcomes. The recommendation was based on a review of the consultation feedback and a consideration of the statutory criteria for such reviews. It was noted that there was a very low response rate to the consultation (4.6% of the electorate) despite a comprehensive communications and consultation exercise which included an information booklet, consultation response form and pre-paid envelope delivered to all households in the High Wycombe unparished area as well as the option to take part in the consultation online. This suggested to the Committee that the debate about local governance did not engage the overwhelming majority of the residents in the High Wycombe community. The Committee was particularly struck that the response rate did not meet the threshold set out in legislation that would have been necessary to trigger a community governance petition. The Committee therefore took the view that there was no clear mandate for parishing the town of High Wycombe and for establishing a town council, which would result in a significant structural change and an additional financial charge on the residents of the High Wycombe. Whilst some respondents were attracted to the idea of a Town Council to give an added focus to the issues affecting the town, there was limited support for sustaining it financially.

The Committee had agreed that a number of measurable commitments from the Council should be made: a) to the continuous improvement of the current governance arrangements, and specifically that the Council should commission a review of the remit and operating arrangements of the High Wycombe Town Committee to ensure that it is in a better position to respond  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Members received reports from Cabinet Members. There was an opportunity for members to ask questions of individual Cabinet Members about matters and issues affecting their portfolios.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Martin Tett

The Leader provided an update regarding devolution, mentioning that he had received a letter from the Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government shortly before the meeting which indicated that they were minded to progress the Buckinghamshire devolution agreements. This seemed to indicate that arrangements would follow the previous tier 2 proposal from the previous Government, which did not provide any additional powers to the Council. The Leader emphasized that a proposal had been lodged for a significantly expanded devolution agreement and a full Government response was awaited. In response to a query raised around sharing this letter with all members, the Leader advised that he would check that there was no issue with this being placed in the public domain then seek to circulate it. Members were also advised that local MPs had received a copy of the letter.

A Member raised comments on the Opportunity Bucks programme’s allocation of funds directed towards deprived areas, and the establishing of parish councils in the High Wycombe area, the Leader clarified that the relevant matters had been discussed under the previous agenda item.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Steve Broadbent

In response to a question about the Council's efforts to ensure that pothole repairs were permanent first time fixes, and the comparison of the current approach using a Pothole Pro compared to previous methods, the Cabinet Member clarified that the Council was focusing on innovations such as recycled materials for use on footways and thermal repair technology, as well as using mastic repair, which was faster curing and resulted in longer-lasting roads. He emphasized the Council's approach to a 'right first time' fix and mentioned that temporary repairs were sometimes necessary in winter, though local people would be made aware that this was a temporary repair, and permanent repairs would then be made once conditions allowed. The importance of inspecting repairs and maintaining quality standards was emphasised, with contractors required to make corrective repairs at their own expense if they failed to meet standards.

Responding to a question about the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), the Cabinet Member explained that the LCWIP for Buckinghamshire had undergone extensive consultation with local members and community boards to ensure that when external funds were available to deliver schemes the Council could evidence that there was local demand. Delivery of routes was entirely dependent on external funding, although more schemes had been delivered over the previous two years than ever before. The Cabinet Member reiterated the ambition to connect the whole county through the ‘Green Spine’ of Buckinghamshire, allowing for active travel across the county. Members were reminded that the consultation remained open and members of the public were encouraged to respond through the Council’s website.

Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services, Councillor Anita  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

1. Notice of Motion – Motion on the removal of the winter fuel allowance from Buckinghamshire pensioners

The Chairman informed Members that a motion had been submitted to the meeting regarding the removal of the winter fuel allowance from Buckinghamshire pensioners.

The motion was proposed by Councillor Steven Broadbent and seconded by Councillor Arif Hussain, as follows –

This Council is appalled at the decision announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to withdraw the established Winter Fuel Allowance from all pensioners except those receiving Pension Credit or similar benefit with immediate effect this winter.

This decision will mean that many vulnerable Buckinghamshire pensioners will lose between £200 and £300 that they have relied upon to keep their homes warm and food prepared.

Nationally, Age Concern estimates that ‘up to 2 million pensioners who badly need this money will now not receive it’.

Nationally, as many as 800,000 pensioners who are eligible for Pension Tax Credit do not claim it and therefore will be ineligible for the remaining benefit.

This Council Believes:

That this awful decision is contrary to previous undertaking by the Chancellor and Labour Ministers before the Election campaign and that it was not contained in Labour’s Election Manifesto.

That large numbers of Buckinghamshire pensioners will face the prospect of ‘eating or heating’ during the coming winter as a result of this unexpected decision.

That vulnerable Buckinghamshire pensioners on limited means but either not claiming or above the Pension Tax Credit threshold will face devastating choices this winter that could even involve life threatening risks

That a full Equalities Impact Assessment should have been undertaken in advance of the announcement. That any such EIA, when undertaken, should be made public.

This Council resolves:

-          That the Leader writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions explaining this council’s deep concerns for the impact on vulnerable Buckinghamshire pensioners and asking them to reinstate the Winter Fuel Allowance with immediate effect. This should remain in place pending a full Equalities Impact Assessment and the evaluation of an alternative scheme which would protect the most vulnerable and those middle-income pensioners at risk during Winter months.

-          That the Leader writes to all Buckinghamshire Members of Parliament explaining this council’s concerns and asking them to indicate whether they support the Government’s position and to publish information about how they voted on the plans in Parliament.

-          That all Members support the Council’s campaign to encourage all eligible pensioners to apply for Pension Tax Credit and other relevant benefits ahead of any deadline.

Councillor Broadbent explained the rationale of the motion, after which Councillor A Hussain (seconder) spoke in favour of the motion.

An amendment to the motion, proposed by Councillor Stuchbury and seconded by Councillor Bates, had been submitted and circulated to all Members prior to the meeting in a supplementary agenda, as follows (changes in BOLD or struckthrough):

This Council is appalled disappointed at the decision announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The written responses to questions from Members, published as a supplement to the agenda, were noted.

A list of decisions taken by the Leader since the Annual Council meeting on 17 July 2024 were received and noted.

Wednesday 27^th November 2024 at 4 p.m.

4 p.m., Wednesday 27^th November 2024.