Agenda for City Council on Monday, 18th May, 2020, 2.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Remote - To be held remotely via Zoom - https://www.youtube.com/user/NottCityCouncil. View directions

Contact: Jane Garrard, Senior Governance Officer  Email: jane.garrard@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Councillor Azad Choudhry (personal)

Councillor Sue Johnson

Councillor Mohammed Saghir

2.

Declarations of interests

Minutes:

None

3.

Questions from citizens

Minutes:

None

4.

Petitions from Councillors on behalf of citizens

Minutes:

None

5.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of Council held on 9 March 2020 pdf icon PDF 574 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 9 March 2020 were confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

6.

To receive official communications and announcements from the Leader of the Council and/or the Chief Executive

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council reported the following:

 

Katherine Kerswell

Following the departure of our previous Chief Executive, I’m pleased to report that, following an Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee interview in March, Katherine Kerswell has been appointed Interim Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council. Katherine joined the Council in mid-April and will lead our Corporate Leadership Team and work with Councillors until a permanent Chief Executive is formally appointed, which we will hear about later this afternoon, and able to start working with the Council. We are pleased to already be working alongside Katherine and I’m sure you will all join me in welcoming Katherine to the Council.

 

Candida Brudenell

I would also like to report that Candida Brudenell, the Council’s Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources, and Assistant Chief Executive, will be leaving us, having joined the Council as an apprentice 33 years ago. Candida has championed Nottingham people throughout her time at the Council, helping to bring forward real change in transforming the services we deliver as well as forging lasting relationships with partners at home and abroad. More recently, Candida has played a critical role in leading the Council’s response to coronavirus. There will be an opportunity to say thank you properly to Candida in the next few weeks, but as this is her last Full Council meeting, we wish her well in her new role as Assistant Chief Fire Officer at Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

 

The Council’s response to Covid-19

 

The coronavirus has had a dramatic effect on the City and the way services are run in Nottingham. In Nottingham, 163 people have sadly lost their lives, including two much loved members of Nottingham City Council staff. Ralston Fustiye and a young woman whose family don't wish her name to be mentioned today. On behalf of the Council, I send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones to this dreadful virus and we are thinking of you at this time. At the end of this item on the agenda I will ask councillors to join me in a minutes silence in memory of all those who have lost their lives in Nottingham, particularly our two members of staff.

 

As a Council we have had to respond quickly and effectively to change the way we deliver services to the people in our City. We’ve had to make hard choices to alter and stop services in order to protect our staff and keep citizens safe from harm. These hard choices mean we have, for example, closed facilities like Crocus Fields in the Meadows which provides short breaks for children with the highest need. We’ve put a stop to non-essential housing repairs, to garden waste collections, reduced Housing Aid contact to an appointment only system and closed our day centres. While people are being instructed to avoid non-essential travel, we’ve closed the Tourist Information Centre. And whilst our parks remain open so that people can still access them for exercise, our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Questions from Councillors - to the City Council's lead Councillor on the Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Authority

Minutes:

None

8.

Questions from Councillors - to a member of Executive Board, the Chair of a Committee and the Chair of any other City Council body pdf icon PDF 118 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no questions for response at the meeting.  The responses to questions requiring a written response are attached.

9.

Decisions taken under Urgency Procedures pdf icon PDF 225 KB

Report of the Leader of the Council

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council presented the report detailing urgent decisions that Council is required to note, which have been taken under provisions within the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, Access to Information Rules and the Scheme of Delegation.

 

Resolved to note

 

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

 

Decision Reference Number

Date of Decision

Subject

Value of Decision

Reason for Urgency

3837

19 March 2020

Investment Acquisition – Project Shirley

Exempt

To enable the necessary documentation to be signed and sealed and sale completed within required timescales.

3842

28 March 2020

Acceptance of grant funding from Highways England

£2.69million

Highways England required the funding agreement to be signed by 31 March 2020

3845

30 March 2020

Authorisation under Business Closure Regulations 2020

Nil

To enable enforcement action to be taken as soon as possible to protect public health.

3846

30 March 2020

Acceptance of grant funding from the Department for Transport

£18,020,502

Although the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed that the Council’s bid to the Transforming Cities Fund was successful as part of the 2019/20 budget, the letter formalising the grant allocation was received on 20 March 2020.  The DfT proposed to pay the first instalment of the grant on 31 March 2020.

3847

30 March 2020

Additional costs associated with social care provision during the current coronavirus outbreak

Exempt

To enable services to respond urgently to the coronavirus outbreak.

3848

6 April 2020

Financing Arrangements

Exempt

Delay would have jeopardised the ongoing viability of a wholly owned company

3855

15 April  2020

Financing Arrangements

Exempt

Delay would have jeopardised the ongoing viability of a wholly owned company

 

(2)  the Key Decisions taken under the Special Urgency Procedure

 

Decision Reference Number

Date of Decision

Subject

Value of Decision

Reason for Urgency

3846

30 March 2020

Acceptance of grant funding from the Department of Transport

£18,020,502

Although the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed that the Council’s bid to the Transforming Cities Fund was successful as part of the 2019/20 budget, the letter formalising the grant allocation was received on 20 March 2020.  The DfT proposed to pay the first instalment of the grant on 31 March 2020 so there was insufficient time to give more notice of the decision to accept the funding.

3847

30 March 2020

Additional costs associated with social care provision during the current coronavirus outbreak

Exempt

To enable services to respond urgently to the coronavirus situation.

3855

15 April 2020

Financing Arrangements

Exempt

Delay would have jeopardised the ongoing viability of a wholly owned company

 

 

(3)  urgent non-executive officer decisions that would have otherwise been taken by Council

 

Decision Reference Number

Date of Decision

Subject

Value of Decision

Reason for Urgency

1

7 April 2020

Amendment to call in arrangements

Nil

To avoid any delay in implementing decisions taken by officers to respond to the current outbreak of coronavirus

 

10.

Parental Leave Policy pdf icon PDF 199 KB

Report of the Leader of the Council

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council presented the report regarding a Parental Leave Policy for councillors.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  note the contents of the Parental Leave Policy for Councillors; and

 

(2)  note the Council’s intention to convene an Independent Remuneration Panel to consider the proposed changes to the Members’ Allowances Scheme, as detailed in Part 7 of the Nottingham City Council Constitution.

11.

Appointment of Chief Executive pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Report of the Chair of the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee presented the report proposing approval of appointments to the posts of interim Chief Executive and Chief Executive.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  approve the appointment in post of Katherine Kerswell as interim Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service and Proper Officer for Electoral Registration and Returning Officer, on the terms and conditions approved by the then Chief Executive; and

 

(2)  approve the appointment in post of Melbourne Junior Barrett as substantive Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service and Proper Officer for Electoral Registration and Returning Officer, on the terms and conditions approved by the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee.

12.

Committee Membership Changes

To note that:

a)  Councillor AJ Matsiko has replaced Councillor Azad Choudhry as a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

b)  Councillor Maria Joannou has replaced Councillor Azad Choudhry as a member of the Planning Committee

c)  Councillor  Azad Choudhry has resigned as a member of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

d)  Councillor Maria Joannou has resigned as a member of the Regulatory and Appeals Committee

e)  Councillor AJ Matsiko has resigned as a member of the Health Scrutiny Committee

f)  Councillor Mohammed Saghir has resigned as a member of the Trusts and Charities Committee

 

Minutes:

The following committee membership changes were noted:

 

(1)  Councillor AJ Matsiko had replaced Councillor Azad Choudhry as a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

(2)  Councillor Maria Joannou had replaced Councillor Azad Choudhry as a member of the Planning Committee

 

(3)  Councillor Azad Choudhry had resigned as a member of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

 

(4)  Councillor Maria Joannou had resigned as a member of the Regulatory and Appeals Committee

 

(5)  Councillor AJ Matsiko had resigned as a member of the Health Scrutiny Committee

 

(6)  Councillor Mohammed Saghir had resigned as a member of the Trusts and Charities Committee.

13.

Future meeting dates

To agree to meet on the following Mondays at 2pm if there is sufficient business to be transacted:

·  13 July 2020

·  14 September 2020

·  9 November 2020

·  11 January 2021

·  8 March 2021

Minutes:

Resolved to meet on the following Mondays at 2pm if there is sufficient business to be transacted:

·  13 July 2020

·  14 September 2020

·  9 November 2020

·  11 January 2021

·  8 March 2021