Agenda and draft minutes

In the absence of the Lord Mayor, the meeting was chaired by the Sheriff/ Vice Chair of Council, Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos.

To elect a Lord Mayor for municipal year 2024/25

Councillor David Mellen proposed Councillor Carole McCulloch as Lord Mayor for municipal year 2024/25.  This was seconded by Councillor Helen Kalsi.

Resolved to elect Councillor Carole McCulloch as Lord Mayor for municipal year 2024/25 until the next Annual General Meeting of Council.

As the newly elected Lord Mayor, Councillor Carole McCulloch chaired for the remainder of the meeting.

To appoint a Sheriff for municipal year 2024/25

Councillor Georgia Power proposed Councillor Liaqat Ali as Sheriff for municipal year 2024/25.  This was seconded by Councillor Sajid Mohammed.

Resolved to appoint Councillor Liaqat Ali as Sheriff for municipal year 2024/25 until the next Annual General Meeting of Council.

Councillor Sam Gardiner – unwell

Councillor Maria Joannou - personal

Councillor Sarita-Marie Rehman-Wall – personal

Councillor Maria Watson - personal

None

Report of the Lord Mayor

Councillor David Mellen proposed Councillor Neghat Khan as Leader of the Council.  This was seconded by Councillor Patience Ifediora.

Councillor Kevin Clarke proposed Councillor Andrew Rule as Leader of the Council.  This was seconded by Councillor Kirsty M Jones.

Resolved to:

(1)  note that Councillor David Mellen had resigned as Leader of the Council; and

(2)  elect Councillor Neghat Khan as Leader of the Council for a term of office of three years starting on 20 May 2024 and ending on the day of the next Annual General Meeting of Full Council held after all Council elections (May 2027).

Use of resources

A citizen asked the following question of the Executive Member for Finance and Resources:

With restrictions on spending why are bushes cut on Trent Bridge near the Embankment Public House on a Sunday at 05.30? Also, our road was resurfaced from the Levelling Up Fund, which meant our street was closed from 08.00-17.00 on a Friday which is our bin collection day. We expected an early morning collection, before the work began at 08.00, this didn’t happen, and instead our bin was collected on Sunday. Could better planning save money as I’m sure the staff would have either been on overtime or enhanced pay for working a Sunday?

Councillor Linda Woodings replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor.  I’d like to start by thanking this citizen for their question.  They have flagged highway works that took place on their street and the fact that their bins weren’t collected until two days later on the following Sunday because of the works that took place.  So in relation to those highway works, the programme of highway improvements has been fully externally funded and delivered by the Council as part of the Streets for People programme. I think that all councillors in this Chamber will have had work carried out in their ward and seen improvements delivered by the Council’s Highways Service to over 150 kilometres worth of roads footpaths and cycleways and, in addition, the Scheme has delivered ½ a kilometre of urban greening, it has planted over 200 trees, and it has introduced hundreds of traffic-calming measures, especially around sensitive locations such as schools.

Wherever possible works in residential areas are scheduled to avoid waste collection days, but those works are also subject to the weather and so there are occasions where dates have to be delayed and it causes disruption to other services as a result of that. When that happens the Council always seeks to manage the impact on residents. Where possible with such schemes we recover costs from the external funding body, but where this isn’t possible on occasion the Council will absorb limited unplanned costs of collecting bins on a Sunday. So it wasn’t planned to do that, but it was just the way it actually turned out and obviously this resident had their road resurfaced and they had their bin collected all in the space of 48 hours.  Given that the programme has so far delivered £11½ million worth of highway improvements across the city and roads that have been upgraded are less likely to suffer from persistent potholes and other defects that require short-term and temporary solutions, the rare occasions where service disruption creates additional costs for the Council is massively outweighed by the benefits of the Streets for People programme, which is delivering for our neighbourhoods and communities. Whether there were additional costs incurred in relation to that scheme I can’t confirm without extra information on the exact street and date, but I am really pleased that the Streets for People  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Councillor Andrew Rule presented a petition on behalf of residents of Garrett Grove and Farriers Green asking the Council to improve flood mitigation measures on Council owned land adjacent to Garrett Grove and Farriers Green through the installation of a ‘French Drain’ along the entirety of the boundary of the field from Garrett Grove to Farriers Green.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2024 were confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

The Chief Executive made the following announcement:

Catherine Underwood, Corporate Director for People Services, will be leaving the Council at the end of June. Having started her career in mental health services and becoming a registered social worker, Catherine has given many years service to local authorities and the NHS, before joining the Council in 2018.  She became the Director of Adult Social Care and in 2019 was appointed as Corporate Director for People with responsibility for key statutory services including adult social care, children’s social care, youth justice, education and public health. I would like to thank her for her service to the Council and wish her well for the future.

None

Leader of the Council

Councillor Adele Williams asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

Would the Leader of the Council join me in thanking Councillor David Mellen for his exemplary hard work and commitment as Leader for five years and as a Portfolio Holder for eleven years?

Councillor Neghat Khan replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and can I thank Councillor Williams for her question.  I am pleased that my first speech here to you all as Leader is to thank my friend and ward colleague David Mellen for his service to our city and for his selflessness. All of us, even those in the Opposition Group, will have memories of David’s leadership, where his calm, compassion and generosity have shone through. His time as Leader has been one that has seen many challenges: the Covid pandemic; a Conservative Government that has continued to reduce Council funding; Brexit; the collapse of Intu Broadmarsh; the closure of Robin Hood Energy; the imposition of a Government-appointed Improvement and Assurance Board; and our city becoming global news when terror was visited upon our streets last year.  In these tough times however, he has dug in and delivered. We now have the new Broadmarsh bus station and car park and can see the first shoots of a new green heart for the city. There are hundreds of new social homes; support for people into employment, education, and training; a successfully reopened Nottingham Castle; and, probably most dear to him, our new Central Library.  The new Labour mayor for the East Midlands is down to David’s hard work with colleagues in neighbouring councils to follow through on a new combined authority. The bio buses, electric bin lorries, and wildflower verges are a testament to his commitment to our Carbon-Neutral 2028 goal. The free children’s books in hundreds of our homes across our city are down to him and his close friend Dolly.  As the leader of our Labour Group, he was just as giving. Time and care were taken for each one of us, and flowers or a card would always arrive in tough moments or celebrations. Nothing was deemed to be too small for him to help out on. I sincerely hope that he takes a moment to look back at his time and his achievements over the Summer.  David, thank you – not only for your service to Nottingham, but for your resolve, commitment, and dedication to the people of our city.  Thank you.

Deputy Leader of the Council

Councillor Audrey Dinnall asked the following question of the Deputy Leader of the Council:

Would the Deputy Leader of the Council join me in thanking Councillor Audra Wynter for all her hard work as Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance under one of the most challenging years that this Council has had to face?

Councillor Ethan Radford replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor.  I will certainly join Councillor Dinnall in thanking Councillor Wynter for her hard work as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Report of the Lord Mayor

Councillor Carole McCulloch, Lord Mayor and Chair of Council, proposed the report setting out proposed terms of reference and first meeting dates for Council committees in municipal year 2024/25 along with proposed memberships, substitute and chairing arrangements; and the terms of reference and City Council membership of joint committees to which Council is delegating non-executive functions.  The report was seconded by Councillor Liaqat Ali.

Resolved to:

(1)  establish the following Council committees and joint committees, with terms of reference as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, for municipal year 2024/25:

i)  Appeals Committee

ii)  Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee

iii)  Audit Committee

iv)  Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

v)  Communities and Environment Scrutiny Committee

vi)  Corporate Scrutiny Committee

vii)  Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transit Advisory Committee

viii)  Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee

ix)  Health and Wellbeing Board

x)  Housing and City Development Scrutiny Committee

xi)  Independent Panel

xii)  Investigating and Disciplinary Committee

xiii)  Licensing Committee

xiv)  Planning Committee

xv)  Regulatory and Appeals Committee

xvi)  Standards and Governance Committee

xvii)  Trusts and Charities Committee

xviii)  Joint Committee on Mineral and Waste Planning

xix)  Police and Crime Panel

xx)  Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Partnership

(2)  set the first meeting dates for Council committees and joint committees in municipal year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report;

(3)  appoint the membership and substitutes, where applicable, for Council committees and the City Council membership and substitutes, where applicable, for joint committees for municipal year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report;

(4)  appoint the committee chairs and vice chairs for municipal year 2024/25 for committees that Council is responsible for appointing, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report;

(5)  amend Article 9 Non-Executive Functions and Committees of the Constitution to reflect the Council committees and joint committees established for municipal year 2024/25 and their agreed terms of reference.

Report of the Leader of the Council

Councillor Neghat Khan, Leader of the Council, proposed the report informing Council of her appointment of Deputy Leader and Executive Members; the terms of reference and membership of Executive Committees for 2024/25; and confirmation of other Executive delegations.  The report was seconded by Councillor Ethan Radford.

Resolved to:

(1)  note the appointment of Councillor Ethan Radford as Deputy Leader of the Council;

(2)  note that all references to the term ‘Portfolio Holder’ within the Council’s Executive arrangements are replaced by the term ‘Executive Member’;

(3)  note the appointment of the following councillors as Executive Members and their areas of responsibility as set out in Appendix 1 to the report:

i)  Councillor Cheryl Barnard – Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education

ii)  Councillor Jay Hayes – Executive Member for Housing and Planning

iii)  Councillor Corall Jenkins – Executive Member for Communities, Waste and Equalities

iv)  Councillor Neghat Khan – Executive Member for Strategic Regeneration, Transport and Communications

v)  Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis – Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health

vi)  Councillor Sam Lux – Executive Member for Carbon Reduction, Leisure and Culture

vii)  Councillor Ethan Radford – Executive Member for Skills, Growth and Economic Development

viii)  Councillor Linda Woodings – Executive Member for Finance and Resources

(4)  note the terms of reference and first meeting dates for Executive committees in 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report;

(5)  note the appointments, including substitutes where appropriate, to and chairing arrangements for Executive committees, including joint arrangements, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report;

(6)  note that the Constitution will be amended to reflect these appointments and delegations of responsibility; and

(7)  note that all other Executive delegations, as set out in the Executive Scheme of Delegation, are confirmed.

Report of the Leader of the Council

Councillor Neghat Khan, Leader of the Council, proposed the report informing Council of the establishment of the East Midlands Combined County Authority on 27 February 2024 and the election of a Mayor of the East Midlands on 2 May 2024.  The report was seconded by Councillor Ethan Radford.

Resolved to note that:

(1)  the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) was formally established on 27 February 2024, with the first formal board meeting held on 20 March 2024; and that the EMCCA brings with it additional investment funding to the area alongside devolved powers around transport, housing, skills, adult education, economic development and net zero;

(2)  the EMCCA is a new body that Nottingham City Council will work in partnership with.  Achieving success in Nottingham’s strategic priorities will require effective working with the EMCCA and the new Mayor and this relationship, of fundamental importance to the Council, will be a priority for the foreseeable future; and

(3)  the first election for the new role of Mayor of the East Midlands took place on 2 May 2024.

Report of the Leader of the Council

Councillor Neghat Khan, Leader of the Council, proposed the report informing Council that, since the last report to Council in March 2024, there had been one decision taken under the urgency provisions within the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules and no decisions taken under the special urgency provisions within the Access to Information Procedure Rules.  Councillor Ethan Radford seconded the report.

Resolved to note that:

(1)  the following decision had been taken under the Call In and Urgency provisions of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules (Article 11) of the Constitution since the last report to Council;

(2)  no decisions had been taken under the special urgency provisions within the Access to Information Procedure Rules (Article 13) of the Constitution since the last report to Council.

To agree to meet at 2pm on the following Mondays:

·  8 July 2024

·  9 September 2024

·  11 November 2024

·  13 January 2025

·  24 February 2025

Resolved to meet at 2pm on the following Mondays:

·  8 July 2024

·  9 September 2024

·  11 November 2024

·  13 January 2025

·  24 February 2025