Agenda and draft minutes

Link to further information in the Council’s Constitution

There were no declarations of interest made.

To receive as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on Thursday, 23 May 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 23 May 2024 were approved as a true record and signed by the Mayor.

The Mayor welcomed Sara Pregon, the Borough’s future Monitoring Officer and thanked her for stepping in this evening and went on to inform Council about some of the events he had attended since becoming Mayor.  Highlights included lunch at the Bishop’s Palace in Southwell, afternoon tea with residents of Westdale Care Home, the open gardens event in Lady Bay, the Radcliffe on Trent Carnival, and finally the view from the stage at the recent Proms in the Park event, with residents from across the Borough enjoying the Motown music.

The Leader also welcomed Sara Pregon and went on to inform Council about the Touch Rugby World Cup that was underway, with over 40 nations taking part, and having attended the amazing opening ceremony, he encouraged all Councillors to attend if they could. The event was organised by the Chief Executive of Nottingham Rugby, which had its base within the Borough and the event had also highlighted to the Leader that Nottingham Touch Rugby ran out of the Borough’s Gresham sports facility and he went onto praise the school choir from the Millside Spencer Academy, in East Leake, which had taken part in the opening ceremony.

The Leader went on to inform Council that Chris Boardman, Olympic Gold medallist, cycled through the Borough this week as part of his Pedals to Paris Challenge, which was raising awareness of green issues and he outlined a number of commitments residents were being asked to sign up to in the form of a Green Pledge.

The Leader informed Council that the authority had recently been shortlisted for two awards in planning but had not won. Both categories were recognising the innovative work that the Council had done on the Local Development Order  for the Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station.

Finally, the Leader confirmed that he had written to the Borough’s new MP following the recent General Election inviting him to visit in the hope of establishing a good working relationship for the benefit of the Borough and obtaining an additional conduit into central government.

There were no Chief Executive’s Announcements.

To answer questions submitted by Citizens on the Council or its services.

No citizens’ questions were received for this meeting.

No petitions were presented at this meeting.

The report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

The Leader and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Strategic and Borough-wide Leadership, Councillor Clarke presented the report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services providing a review of the work undertaken by the Council’s four Scrutiny Groups during 2023/24.

The Leader informed Council that he had great pleasure in presenting the annual scrutiny reports for approval and referred to the importance of scrutiny in helping to develop policy, address the concerns of residents, and provide the appropriate checks and balances. After Councillor Brennan had been given the opportunity to second the report, he asked that each of the scrutiny chairs be invited to deliver a brief summary of the year.

Councillor Brennan seconded the recommendation and reserved the right to speak.

Councillor Combellack, Chair of the Corporate Overview Group for 2023/24, reported on a very productive year in which improvements had been made to the scrutiny process, including a simplified scrutiny request form and the opportunity to present those requests to the Corporate Overview Group in person. Councillor Combellack was keen to point out that not all requests to scrutiny were forwarded to a scrutiny group for discussion, some were addressed directly by officers, by other Council groups, or referred to Cabinet. Councillor Combellack urged Councillors to continue highlighting topics for potential scrutiny and asked them to engage with officers in the first instance to ensure requests coming forward were well formulated, within the Council’s remit and represented good value for money.

Councillor Edyvean, Chair of the Governance Scrutiny Group, thanked members of the group for their attendance and respectful debate, and his Vice-chair for her support during the year. Councillor Edyvean explained that the Governance Scrutiny Group differed from the other scrutiny groups as it was primarily backward looking, focusing on financial performance and assurance. The Group had also looked at the Constitution, and given the number and complexity of changes, especially in relation to planning matters, a Member Working Group had been established to consider them. Councillor Edyvean stated that Rushcliffe was very lucky to have such skilled officers and encouraged all Councillors to attend the annual Treasury Management Training.

Councillor Williams, Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Group, referred to the wide range and interesting subjects the Group had considered, including Social Housing Models, Smoke Control Areas, Streetwise, East Midlands Airport, and the Council’s Carbon Management Plan. Councillor Williams thanked the members of his Group, those that had substituted when needed, and his Vice-chair.

Councillors Matthews, Chair of the Growth and Development Scrutiny Group, had noted the willingness and productiveness of Councillors and officers to work together to scrutinise a range of topics, when he had taken over the position of Chair part-way through the year. He thanked all participants for their enthusiasm and contributions to the meetings and also his Vice-chair and his predecessor Councillor R Walker.

Councillor Gowland, the Vice-chair of Governance Scrutiny Group, informed Council that despite the complex reports being considered by the Group, the presentations and explanations by both officers and external speakers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

The Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance, Transformation and Governance, Councillor Virdi presented the report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services detailing the Council’s Productivity Plan.

In moving the recommendation, Councillor Virdi stated that this Productivity Plan was based on the Council’s Transformation and Efficiency Plan, which had been agreed at Full Council in March 2024, and if endorsed this evening would be submitted to Government on 19 July 2024. The Plan focused on four key themes, as detailed in the table at paragraph 3.2 in Appendix A to the report. Councillor Virdi also highlighted two additional areas, one of which was the Council’s response to the fourth key theme regarding barriers, as detailed in Section 4 of Appendix A, with the second contextualising the environment that the Council had been working in, including a decrease in its core spending power, as detailed in paragraph 1.4 of Appendix A. Councillor Virdi concluded by advising that despite the challenges being faced, the Council continued to deliver excellent, high quality services to local residents, whilst delivering further efficiencies, as required by this Productivity Plan.

Councillor J Wheeler seconded the recommendation and reserved the right to speak.

Councillor J Walker thanked officers but advised that the Labour Group could not support the document as it ‘baked in’ the cuts that the Group had opposed in March. She felt that the barriers referred to in the report were important to highlight, as they showed the need for greater devolution, together with the challenges being faced. Councillor Walker stated that devolution would improve local democracy, allow more collaborative working to increase spending power and improve services. She felt that the inclusion of a multi-year settlement and the lack of clarity regarding the New Homes Bonus should have been included, as they were key factors why this and other councils struggled during very turbulent times. Councillor Walker hoped for positive change going forward and for an attitude of recovery rather than retribution.

Councillor Thomas stated that it was a good report but referred to paragraph 4.2 and to the change in terminology to use the term ‘reducing discretionary expenditure’ rather than ‘reducing wasteful spend’ and advised that those two things were completely different. She hoped going forward that if the new Government had different requirements, some of the barriers highlighted could be removed.

Councillor Chewings thanked officers but advised that he and Councillor Birch would not be supporting the report for the same reasons as aired at the Council meeting in March. He felt that efficiencies were cuts, the significant increase in parking revenue was effecting both residents and businesses, and the reductions in funding to public conveniences could not be supported. Whilst acknowledging that there was uncertainty and long standing issues regarding funding, he hoped that with the new Government in place things would change for the better.

Councillor J Wheeler thanked officers and stated that the Council had to go forward with the Plan as proposed and savings were being put forward to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To receive Notices of Motion

a)               Councillor Birch

The current first-past-the-post electoral system is unfair and undemocratic. It often results in a discrepancy between the percentage of votes received by parties and the number of seats they hold. This often leads to the underrepresentation of minority parties and the overrepresentation of majority parties, which distorts the democratic will of the electorate.

Proportional representation offers a fairer alternative by ensuring that seats are allocated in proportion to the votes received, thus more accurately reflecting the will of the electorate. Proportional representation is a fairer and more democratic electoral system. 

Council resolves to:

1.       Formally declare that it supports the principle of proportional representation in UK general elections. 

2.        Formally declare that it supports the principle of proportional representation in UK local elections. 

3.       Write to HM Government to request a change in our voting system from first past the post to proportional representation. 

b)               Councillor Thomas

This Council believes that car park solar canopies could have considerable potential to contribute to solar energy generation in Rushcliffe in an environmentally friendly way. The Council will encourage this by: 

1.   Including suitable text in relevant policies, strategies, and guidance notes.   

2.   Undertaking a feasibility study into installation of canopies on its own car parks, with a view to bringing forward a capital project or projects by way of an exemplar. 

a)              The following notice of motion was proposed by Councillor Birch and seconded by Councillor Chewings.

“The current first-past-the-post electoral system is unfair and undemocratic. It often results in a discrepancy between the percentage of votes received by parties and the number of seats they hold. This often leads to the underrepresentation of minority parties and the overrepresentation of majority parties, which distorts the democratic will of the electorate.

Proportional representation offers a fairer alternative by ensuring that seats are allocated in proportion to the votes received, thus more accurately reflecting the will of the electorate. Proportional representation is a fairer and more democratic electoral system.

Council resolves to:

1.           Formally declare that it supports the principle of proportional representation in UK general elections.

2.           Formally declare that it supports the principle of proportional representation in UK local elections.

3.           Write to HM Government to request a change in our voting system from first past the post to proportional representation.”

Councillor Birch requested a recorded vote and referred to the importance of this issue, given that the recent General Election had been the most unrepresentative since 1928, with 58% of the votes cast being totally unrepresented, which was unacceptable. Councillor Birch stated that this could not be called a true democracy when the voting results did not reflect the will of the electorate, and the current First Past the Post (FPTP) system should be replaced by Proportional Representation (PR).

Councillor Birch reiterated that results in the recent General Election had been greatly distorted, with the largest party having its votes exaggerated, with smaller parties marginalised. He also shared details of the 2015 General Election results in Belfast South, when the winning party had only received 25% of the vote, which he considered an afront to democratic principles and confirmed that the current voting system was not fit for purpose. Councillor Birch also referred to the results in the 2019 Rushcliffe Borough Council Election and how unfair they had been, with that reflected across the country. He questioned why the current system was defended and whilst acknowledging that there were some reasonable defences of it, he considered that the disadvantages far outweighed any benefits.  

Councillor Birch stated that there was considerable misinformation surrounding PR and advised that there was evidence to show that it had worked very well in many countries throughout western Europe since World War II. It usually produced strong, stable, coalition governments, which on average lasted longer than majority governments formed under FPTP. Councillor Birch stated that citizens in those countries also reported greater satisfaction with their political system, with voter turnout measurably higher. Reference was made to ongoing political instability in Italy, and Councillor Birch stated that this was not due to its use of PR, but rather to the very well-known regional, cultural and political differences experienced there, and he felt that Italy should therefore not be used as an example. 

Councillor Birch referred to concerns that PR would lead to a break down in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To answer questions submitted by Councillors

a)              Question from Councillor J Walker to Councillor Upton.

“Having visited some Metropolitan Housing in my ward this week I have witnessed first-hand how poor attempts at repair from our housing partners have led to leaks and drafts resulting in a young family living in damp and mouldy conditions. 

Is it proper that Rushcliffe Borough Council continues to sit on money intended to go to Registered Housing Providers when families are having to spend time chasing up Registered Housing Providers just to get poor workmanship put right whilst living in poor housing conditions?”

Councillor Upton responded that this Council did not sit on any money that could be used to benefit residents’ lives and the Council approved the budget each March, a process which all Councillors were involved in. He went on to assume that Councillor Walker was referring to surplus s106 money and highlighted that this was not the Council’s money, the Council collected it and acted as banker until such a time that the money could be spent on predetermined, large scale infrastructure projects.

The Mayor asked if Councillor Walker had a supplementary question.

Councillor J Walker clarified that her question was not about the s106 money but the carry forward that should be going to the Registered Housing Providers.

Councillor Upton referenced previous confidential conversations that had outlined the housing projects that the carry forwards referred to. The budget was fully committed, and the Council therefore carried that forward over the end of an accounting year to ensure those important projects remained funded. It was not the Council’s responsibility to put capital funding into repairing properties owned by Registered Housing Providers. Councillor Upton informed Council that last week the Cabinet had adopted a new Housing Enforcement Policy in line with the 2023 Social Housing Regulation Act, which gave residents in social housing greater powers to get problems with their homes addressed.

b)              Question from Councillor Mason to the Leader, Councillor Clarke

“Could the Leader inform this Council of any discussions he has had with our new MP and the Government, regarding the proposed changes to house building targets and planning laws?”

The Leader referred back to his announcements earlier in the evening and informed Council that he had written to Rushcliffe’s new MP, James Naish, and invited him to a meeting at the Council. The Leader had highlighted the pressing issue of Rushcliffe’s Local Plan renewal and the local passion for protecting the greenbelt, and he was hopeful that meeting would take place soon and that it would be the start of a productive working relationship. The Leader also mentioned that he was working with the LGA to better understand how the new Government intends to move planning issues forward.

The Mayor asked if Councillor Mason had a supplementary question.

Councillor Mason asked if the Leader agreed that, together with the number of local homes proposed in the Local Plan, Rushcliffe had more than met its fair share of new homes and that any further requirements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.