Agenda and minutes

Councillor Graham Chapman – work commitments

Councillor Nicola Heaton – leave

Councillor Corall Jenkins – work commitments

Councillor Chris Tansley – work commitments

Councillor Michael Wildgust – unwell

Councillors Brian Parbutt and Alex Norris declared interests in agenda item 11 – Pay Policy Statement, as they are employed by Trade Unions. They left the chamber for consideration of this item.

Councillor Chris Gibson declared an interest in agenda item 11 – Pay Policy Statement, as he has a close relative employed by Nottingham City Council. He left the chamber for consideration of this item.

Councillors Alan Clark, David Liversidge, John Hartshorne, Steve Battlemuch, Michael Edwards and Leslie Ayoola declared interests in agenda item 12 – Motion in the name of Councillor Alan Clark, as they are City Council appointed Board Members of EnviroEnergy and/or Robin Hood Energy. These interests were not felt to be sufficient to require them to leave the chamber; they remained in the chamber and took part in the debate of the motion.

None.

Councillor Carole Jones presented a petition signed by 55 households in Girton Road and Valmont Road, requesting a parking survey, with a view to putting suitable parking restrictions in place.

Subject to the minutes from 9 November 2015 being amended to reflect that Councillor Steve Young was in attendance, Councillor Jim Armstrong was absent due to leave rather than illness, and that the Conservative group voted against item 51 – Amendments to the Constitution, the minutes were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

The Chief Executive reported the following official communications:

The Creative Quarter was awarded the prestigious European Enterprise Promotions Awards in November 2015, recognising the outstanding contribution the project has made to the independent businesses in the Creative Quarter area. Being recognised in this way demonstrates the significant impact the project has made since 2013, and lends international recognition to the project and city following the award.

The former head of Equalities at Nottingham City Council, Chandran Owen, has died aged 62 of pancreatic cancer. Chandran was born in India, then lived and worked in Africa, before settling in Britain, where he worked for equality and social justice. In 1990 he started working for Nottingham City Council. During his time as head of equality, diversity and translation services, from 1994 until his retirement in 2004, he promoted mediation as an integral part of the process of reconciliation and resolution. In 1995 he became a magistrate, and completed 20 years of service.

The former Lord Mayor and Honorary Alderman, Ivy Florence Matthews, passed away on 7 December 2015. Ivy was elected to the City Council in 1962 for the St Albans Ward and served on the Health Committee, Social Services Committee and was appointed Chair of the Environment Committee in 1979 and again in 1983. Ivy Matthews served as Deputy Lord Mayor in 1975, 1983, 1984 and 1987 and served as Lord Mayor in 1975. In 1991, she was appointed an Honorary Alderman.

Councillor Eunice Campbell spoke in tribute to Chandran Owen, and the Lord Mayor spoke in tribute to Councillor Ivy Matthews.

A minute’s silence was held.

None.

Landlord HMO Licensing Costs

Councillor Georgina Culley asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing:

On what basis is this Council charging landlords for the Council’s accommodation costs, IT, HR and legal costs when landlords have applied for HMO licences which have not been issued by the Council?

Councillor Jane Urquhart replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and thank you Councillor Culley for your question. As has become a bit familiar to us in this chamber, it sounds slightly as if there’s some casework going on in full Council, however, the answer to this question is actually very very simple. The basis on which we charge the fees that we do for HMO licences is because that’s the legislative arrangement that’s in place.

So the current HMO licence fee includes all costs recoverable under the Housing Act 2004, so the legislation says that that is the way we can recover our costs, and Local Government Association advice also sends us down this route. I’m sure that currently Councillor Culley’s got some very good routes in to challenge the Local Government Association should she wish to, as we know which party that’s controlled by at the moment.

So the advice from both of those sources, from the legislation and from the LGA toolkit, is to include costs such as accommodation, HR, IT and legal costs. We often hear from the Tories here, and nationally, about how we ought to not put too many burdens on the Council Tax payer, and how it’s very important that Council Tax payers aren’t unduly burdened. Well, this system does not burden them at all, because the licensing scheme is self-funding, in accordance with the guidance.

So the fee, of course, is an application fee. It’s not dependent on the satisfactory grant of a licence. Because clearly, whether or not a licence is granted, is dependent on a whole range of factors, and there is significant work involved whether or not the licence is indeed granted. So again, within the legislation and the guidance, there’s not a requirement for us to refund or reimburse all or part of a fee if the applicants circumstances change or the application is no longer proceeded with. However, in some circumstances, where no licence has yet been issued, we will consider matters on a case by case basis, and we will exercise discretion to waive part of the fee, effectively therefore giving a refund. This could occur, for example, if the applicant decides to sell the property part way through the licensing application period, and in such circumstances, we would of course have incurred some costs in the application process up until that point. And we may decide in those circumstances to give a refund, however, it remains both legitimate and reasonable to retain the element of the fee reflecting the work that has gone on thus far.

So, it’s the legislative position, and we act in accordance with the LGA guidance. So I would say, that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

Report of the Leader

The Leader submitted a report on decisions taken under urgency procedures, as set out on pages 23 to 30 of the agenda.

RESOLVED to note the urgent decisions taken as follows:

(1)  urgent decisions (exempt from call-in)

(2)  key decisions (special urgency procedures)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Neighbourhood Regeneration

The Leader presented a report on the Council Tax support scheme, as set out on pages 31 to 46 of the agenda.

RESOLVED to retain the Council Tax Support Scheme currently in operation, for the 2016/17 financial year, having regard to the Council’s Public Sector Equality Duty and noting the Equality Impact Assessment in Appendix 1 to the report.

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Community Services

Councillor Liversidge presented a report on the Pay Policy Statement, as set out on pages 47 to 112 of the agenda.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  approve and endorse the Council’s pay policy statement for 2016/17;

(2)  note that the statement may need to be amended in-year for any necessary changes the Council may wish to adopt, with any such changes presented to Full Council for approval.

Motion in the name of the Portfolio Holder for Energy and Sustainability, Councillor Alan Clark:

“In the light of worldwide agreement on climate change in Paris, this Council considers that the UK Government has given a clear and perverse signal in its recent approach to renewables by:

·  Blocking solar in rural areas

·  Cutting industrial solar subsidy

·  Cutting biomass subsidy

·  Scrapping the Green Deal

·  Introducing a carbon tax on renewable energy

·  Increasing the tax on small cars

·  Making clear its support for hydrocarbon mineral extraction

and

·  Creating uncertainty about the future of “green collar” jobs

This Council believes that it is giving the correct signals by:

·  Establishing a company to sell energy at the cheapest possible price to all types of customers

·  Co-operating to rollout smart meters to help consumers manage costs

·  Promoting solid wall insulation across all tenures

·  Cutting air pollution by using more electric vehicles

·  Installing many more solar panels

·  Expanding district heating

·  Supporting a low carbon Nottingham

and

·  Maintaining our premier position as the most energy self-sufficient city in the UK”

Moved by Councillor Alan Clark, seconded by Councillor Michael Edwards:

“In the light of worldwide agreement on climate change in Paris, this Council considers that the UK Government has given a clear and perverse signal in its recent approach to renewables by:

·  Blocking solar in rural areas

·  Cutting industrial solar subsidy

·  Cutting biomass subsidy

·  Scrapping the Green Deal

·  Introducing a carbon tax on renewable energy

·  Increasing the tax on small cars

·  Making clear its support for hydrocarbon mineral extraction

and

·  Creating uncertainty about the future of “green collar” jobs

This Council believes that it is giving the correct signals by:

·  Establishing a company to sell energy at the cheapest possible price to all types of customers

·  Co-operating to rollout smart meters to help consumers manage costs

·  Promoting solid wall insulation across all tenures

·  Cutting air pollution by using more electric vehicles

·  Installing many more solar panels

·  Expanding district heating

·  Supporting a low carbon Nottingham

and

·  Maintaining our premier position as the most energy self-sufficient city in the UK”

RESOLVED to carry the motion.