Agenda and minutes

To consider any announcements by the Mayor in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 3(2)(ii).

The Mayor referred to the following Mayoral engagements:

·       Attending a small, socially distanced ceremony to mark the Christmas lights switch on in All Saints’ Square alongside boxing coach, Jamie Kennedy, the Rotherham Advertiser’s Community Awards Winner. 

·       Taking part in an online event to mark the annual “Reclaim the Night” event that promoted action against male violence towards women, with the theme for 2020 being ‘empowerment’.

·       Announcing the winners at the Council’s virtual “Big Hearts Big Changes Awards” Ceremony.

The Mayor also advised that she would be taking part in a video to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January that would be shared on the Council’s social media channels.

To receive the apologies of any Member who is unable to attend the meeting.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Whysall.

Any communication received by the Mayor or Chief Executive which relates to a recommendation of the Cabinet or a committee which was received after the relevant meeting.

There were no communications.

To receive the record of proceedings of the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 11 November and to approve the accuracy thereof.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 11th November, 2020, be approved for signature by the Mayor.

Mover: -  Councillor Read                                 Seconder:-  Councillor Watson

To report on any petitions received by the Council received by the Council and receive statements in support of petitions in accordance with Petitions Scheme and Council Procedure Rule 13.

No petitions have been received since the previous Council Meeting held on 11 November 2020.

The Mayor advised that no petitions had been received since the previous Council Meeting held on 11th November, 2020.

To invite Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting, to confirm the nature of those interests and whether they intend to leave the meeting for the consideration of the item.

Councillors Cusworth, Napper and Senior declared a personal interest in agenda item 12 (Housing Rents and Services Charges 2021/22) as they had family members who held a Council tenancy.

Councillors Andrews, Fenwick-Green, Lelliott, McNeely and Wyatt declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in agenda item 12 (Housing Rents and Services Charges 2021/22) as they held a Council tenancy.  

To receive questions from members of the public who may wish to ask a general question of the Mayor, Cabinet Member or the Chairman of a Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.

(1)  Mr. Felstead asked what, following on from the Cabinet Member’s comments at the beginning of December aired in the Cabinet Meeting, was it in particular that inflamed him about Mr. Felstead enquiring about the financial performance of the Willmott Dixon housing schemes?

Councillor Beck explained he was happy to receive and answer questions about the financial performance of this and any of the Council’s projects.  As Mr. Felstead was aware the Council had provided as much information it could about the finances of the town centre housing scheme. The Council had worked incredibly hard to bring this investment and programme together alongside the Sheffield City Region and Homes England to draw down valuable funding.  The Cabinet Member was extremely proud of what was being produced on site.

Mr. Felstead was, of course, welcome to form his own opinions about that, but when he falsely claimed that there had been some sort of irregularity or that someone had acted illegally, as Cabinet Member the false claims would be robustly refuted.

In a supplementary question Mr. Felstead referred to the withholding of financial information, which he believed to be unlawful by the Cabinet Member.  He also referred to the Independent Review that had been undertaken, which had provided him with relevant information, the value for money assessment and the lack of documentation of any written recommendations to the Council.  He regarded the build cost of the accommodation on the town centre site to be £60,000 per unit, with a  total cost of around £10 million.  The Council were spending £34 million so he, therefore, asked what were the abnormal costs totalling £20 million?

Councillor Beck confirmed he had not got that level of detail nor financial figures available so would respond to the member of the public in writing.

Should it be necessary, in the opinion of the Mayor, to consider excluding the press and public from the meeting in relation to any items of urgent business on the grounds that private information is likely to be divulged.

There are no such items at the time of preparing this agenda.

Resolved:-  That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, that should the Mayor deem it necessary the public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that any items involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of such Act indicated, as now amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

To receive a statement from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.

The Leader wished all in attendance a Happy New Year but noted that he like everyone else, had been hoping for a better start to the new year than the situation that was currently being faced. The Leader noted that a new more transmissible variant of Covid-19 was now in circulation across the country and was sadly now in Rotherham.  The Leader advised that the virus was spreading rapidly and stated that 20% of confirmed cases in the Borough were now being linked to the new strain of the virus, compared to just 2% in December.

The Leader noted that the National Lockdown measures that had been reintroduced across the whole of the country from Tuesday, 5th January, in an attempt to try and reduce the transmission of Covid-19 were set to be reviewed on 15th February and noted that the regulations expired on 31st March. The Leader advised that the situation was very concerning and detailed the measures, including staying at home as much as possible, that were required to try and bring the virus back under control.

The Leader also noted the challenges that the closure of schools would bring for school staff, parents and students. The Leader noted that support for businesses impacted by the pandemic would continue to be offered both nationally and locally and advised that the Council would be encouraging all businesses to apply for support.

The Leader provided an overview of the current situation in Rotherham regarding the pandemic including information on cases and hospital admissions. The Leader advised that to reduce pressures on health services it was essential that everyone did their bit to keep each other safe. The Leader noted that, despite the challenges, that there was positive news with the arrival of vaccines and provided information on the vaccination programme in Rotherham.

The Leader noted his thanks to all Council staff who had worked to deliver services right across the Council during the pandemic. The Leader noted the annual staff awards that had taken place virtually in December and advised that it was now more important than ever to celebrate the work of public servants. The Leader advised that Deborah Thomson had been named as Employee of the Year for her work in rolling out IT provision and thanked her for all her work, work that had contributed to allowing the Council meeting being held to take place.

To note the minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held on 23^rd November and 10^th and 21^st December, 2020.

Resolved: - That the reports, recommendations and minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 23rd November and 10th and 21st December, 2020, be received.

Mover:-  Councillor Read                        Seconder:-  Councillor Watson

To consider recommendations from Cabinet in respect of the HRA Business Plan 2020/21

Pursuant to Cabinet Minute No.91 (2020/21) consideration was given to a report in respect of the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2021-22.

The report stated that the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) recorded all expenditure and income relating to the provision of Council housing and related services, and  as such the Council was required to produce an HRA Business Plan that was reviewed annually to set out its investment priorities over a 30 year period. The report provided a detailed technical overview of the current position of the HRA Business Plan and detailed the reasons for proposed changes. It was noted that the report was to be considered alongside the subsequent report that detailed the proposed levels for Housing Rents, Non-Dwelling Rents, District Heating and Service Charges as well as the draft Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2021/22.

The report stated that since the last update that there had been no significant Government policy changes that affected the business plan, however it was noted that there had been some significant downward changes to CPI (Consumer Prices Index).  It was noted that the proposed HRA Business Plan recognised the importance of continuing investment in new affordable homes and would continue to be amended and reported annually.

In introducing the report, the Cabinet Member for Housing noted that despite the challenges that the continuation of Right to Buy sales presented for the HRA Business Plan, the Council continued to be committed to delivering new affordable housing across the Borough. The Cabinet Member also noted the Council’s continued commitment to, and continued success, in ensuring that all Council homes met or exceeded the national Decent Homes Standard. The Cabinet Member also noted the key themes and objectives of the plan that focussed on delivering housing growth across all tenure types, including shared ownership, and the replacement of homes lost to Right to Buy sales.

Councillor Turner asked how the size of the HRA budget compared to the size of the budget in previous years. The Cabinet Member advised that the budget would be slightly larger in 2021/22 due to the proposed increase in the rents. Councillor B. Cutts noted the amount of development of housing on what had previously been agricultural land over time.

Councillor Cusworth welcomed the proposals and the focus on house building and the provision of new Council properties for social rent and asked for further information on how this was being enabled. The Cabinet Member noted the various innovative schemes and tenure mix that the Council was using to deliver more homes across Rotherham, including the successful programme of strategic acquisitions where the Council had purchased new properties from developers.

Councillor Watson noted that the Council’s commitment to delivering new homes and building new Council rented properties was a political choice that had been taken in order to replace the homes lost to Right to Buy sales and to ensure that there were sufficient decent homes for Rotherham residents.

Councillor Carter noted his support for the delivery of new homes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 434.

To consider recommendations from Cabinet in respect of housing rents and service charges.

Pursuant to Cabinet Minute No.91 (2020/21) consideration was given to a report that sought approval for the proposed values of the Housing Rents, Non-Dwelling Rents, District Heating and Service Charges as well as the draft Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2021/22.

It was proposed that in line with the Government policy on rents for social housing, that rents should be increased by 1.5% (CPI (as of September 2020 plus 1%) in 2021/22. It was noted that this would result in an average rent increase for social rented of £1.12 per week from £74.21 to £75.33 per week. It was noted that the increase in rent would increase rental income by approximately £1.1million that would then be used to support the ongoing maintenance and management of services for Council homes.

For non-dwelling properties, such as garages, garage plots, cooking gas supplies and communal facilities, it was proposed that ,in line with the Council’s policy on fees and charges, that a 2% increase should be implemented in order to enable cost of supplying and managing these services to be covered. It was also proposed that there should be no increase in the charges for District Heating as it had been projected that the scheme would break even in 2021/22.

The Cabinet Member for Housing noted that only around one-third of tenants would pay the full increase in rents, with the rest being supported by being in receipt of full or partial Housing Benefit.

Councillor Jepson noted his support for the proposals and the Council’s activity to provide more social rented homes to replace homes lost to Right to Buy sales.

Councillor Carter stated that the Council should not be increasing rents at a time when families across the Borough were facing tough financial times due the economic impact of the pandemic and advised that the Council should be freezing, not increasing rents at this difficult time.

Councillor Ellis stated her support for the proposals and the Council’s commitment to providing decent homes for residents and noted that the pandemic had highlighted the importance of everyone having a safe and secure home. Councillor Watson noted that the activities detailed in the HRA Business Plan that had just been approved were dependent on the proposed rent increases, and as such stated that all Members who had supported the HRA Business Plan must also support the proposed rent and service charges. Councillor Watson emphasised that most tenants would not be impacted by the increase in rents due the support they received from Housing Benefit.

Councillor Mallinder stated her support for the replacement of homes lost to Right to Buy sales as social rented properties provided safe, secure and good quality housing to many people. Councillor Cusworth noted that the pandemic had created an increase of homelessness and asked how many people on the waiting list for a Council property were homeless. Councillors Steele and Walsh stated their support for the proposed rent increases and noted that the proposed rent increases were small but necessary in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 435.

To receive updates from ward councillors from Wingfield, Dinnington, Hellaby and Holderness on the activities supporting Thriving Neighbourhoods across the Borough.

Further to Minute No. 55 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 19^th November, 2018, consideration was given to the annual Ward updates for Wingfield, Dinnington, Hellaby and Holderness as part of the Thriving Neighbourhood Strategy.

The Strategy signalled a new way of working for the Council both for Members and for staff and covered every Ward in the Borough delivered through Ward Plans developed with residents to address local issues and opportunities.  Ward Members would be supported by the Neighbourhood Team and would work with officers and residents from a range of organisations to respond to residents.

Councillors Allen, R. Elliott and Williams, on behalf of the Wingfield Ward, gave a review of what had taken place during 2019/20 together with the services necessary during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Initiatives that had taken place in the Ward included:-

·            An end of Term event for partners and local groups in February 2020 using the Spotlight Theatre facilities at Wingfield Academy

·            A Christmas tree on the site of the old public hall in Greasbrough

·            The Greasbrough Gala held on 12^th October, 2019 in Greasbrough Park

·            Isolation – a  friendly bench purchased and situated in Greasbrough Park, supported the annual OAP Christmas party and reassurance visits undertaken with Neighbourhood Officers and PCSOs

·            Work with 2 churches – St. Mary’s and St. John’s to bring about social events to bring communities together

·            Events organised – Vintage afternoon tea (2^nd November 2019), Remembrance Day Service (10^th November, 2019), Summer Fayre (29^th June, 2019)

·            Anti-social behaviour – continued work with Housing and the Police on St. John’s Green with new lighting and fencing due soon to increase the safety for the residents of the flats,  work with Streetpride on clearing/cutting back on entrances to underpasses and painted to make them lighter and brighter to feel safer

·            Work with Housing and their Commercial Estate Services to secure funding to demolish garages on Ochre Dike and refresh shop frontages and planting, acquire new business residents and the provision of a car park.  This had reduced anti-social behaviour and provided a pleasant environment

·            Young people – networking meeting to receive the results of the consultation exercise undertaken by Early Help and contributed to by over 300 young people.  A basket swing had been purchased in accordance with their wishes and progress was being made on the requested Greasbrough Multi-Use Games Area

·            Neighbourhood working - Partnership working had brought some good successes in the Ward.  Honoured to host the international Nemesis project through the primary schools in the Wingfield Ward.  The legacy project of this work would see a new SEND provision at Rockingham School

·            Improvements would be sought for the area surrounding what would be the new Coach Road junction hopefully demolishing garages off Main Street and resurfacing, the making of a new car park and to introduce a new green corridor to link the entrance to Green Park to the recreation park and onwards to the new shared use pathway and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 436.

To consider appointment of Members to the Council’s committees, boards and panels.

Pursuant to Minute No.339 consideration was given to a request to fill two vacant Labour Group seats on the Licensing Board and one vacant Labour Group seat on the Licensing Committee.

Resolved: -

1)    That Councillor Stuart Sansome and Councillor Jayne Elliot be appointed to the Licensing Board.

2)    That Councillor Jayne Elliot be appointed to the Licensing Committee.

Mover: - Councillor Read                        Seconder: - Councillor Watson

To receive and consider reports, minutes and recommendations of the Standards and Ethics Committee.

To confirm the minutes as a true record.

Resolved: - That the reports, recommendations and minutes of the meeting of the Standards and Ethics Committee held on 19th November, 2020, be adopted. 

Mover: -  Councillor McNeely                            Seconder:-  Councillor Clark

To receive and consider reports, minutes and recommendations of the Audit Committee.

To confirm the minutes as a true record.

Resolved: - That the reports, recommendations and minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 24th November, 2020, be adopted. 

Mover: - Councillor Wyatt                                  Seconder:-  Councillor Walsh

To receive and consider reports, minutes and recommendations of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

To confirm the minutes as a true record.

Resolved: - That the reports, recommendations and minutes of the meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board held on 11th November, 2020, be adopted. 

Mover: - Councillor Roche                      Seconder:-  Councillor Mallinder

To receive and consider reports, minutes and recommendations of the Planning Board.

To confirm the minutes as a true record.

Resolved: - That the reports, recommendations and minutes of the meetings of the Planning Board held on 5th and 26th November and 17th December, 2020, be adopted. 

Mover: - Councillor Sheppard                 Seconder: -  Councillor Williams

To receive and consider reports, minutes and recommendations of the Licensing Board Sub-Committee and Licensing Sub-Committee.

To confirm the minutes as a true record.

Resolved: - That the reports, recommendations and minutes of the meetings of the Licensing Board Sub-Committee held on 9th November and 1st, 7th and 15th December, 2020, be adopted. 

Mover: - Councillor Ellis                          Seconder: - Councillor Beaumont

To put questions, if any, to the designated Members on the discharge of functions of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority and South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11(5).

(1)  Councillor Cowles had once again read in the local paper that the Police and Crime Commissioner intended to increase the precept to pay for additional Police. The Police and Crime Commissioner had a department of 23 FTE’s, so he asked could the Spokesperson explain briefly what measurable tangible benefit do these people along with the Police and Crime Panel contribute towards increasing the effectiveness of South Yorkshire Police?

Councillor Sansome pointed out that Councillor Cowles misunderstood the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner – which was set out in Legislation. The Police and Crime Commissioner:-

1.          Produced a Police and Crime Plan which set out the priorities for the Force. The Plan was updated each year in line with any changing circumstances – such as changes in crime, the impact of the coronavirus.

2.          Drew up, in conjunction with the Chief Constable, the annual budget for the Force and ensured that it balanced against funds available. These funds were Government grants (approximately 70%) and precept (approximately 30%). The precept was decided by the Police and Crime Commissioner, but only after consultation with Council Leaders, the Police and Crime Panel and the public.

3.          Held the Chief Constable and the Force to account for the way they perform as a Force – for which the Police and Crime Commissioner needed evidence. He did that formally in a Public Accountability Board meeting which was open to the press and public, at which senior officers present reports, including a quarterly report on the performance of the Police in Rotherham district.

4.          Commissioned services – such as Victim Support Services.

5.          Used assets recovered from criminals to fund local groups across South Yorkshire who were all helping to reduce crime or anti-social behaviour.

All the above activity contributed in different ways in helping the Force to meet the objectives that the public would like to see in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, supporting victims and the vulnerable, treating people fairly and making Rotherham a safe place.

All the above required staff. The Police and Crime Commissioner could ‘hide’ these costs by having staff on the payroll of the Force, but he chose to make everything he did as transparent as possible.

The Police and Crime Panel consisted of independent members and local Councillors from each of the four districts who once per month held the Police and Crime Commissioner to account on his performance. The meetings were held in public. Councillor Cowles’s party, in at least one of its iterations, had a Member on it.

Councillor Cowles in his supplementary question confirmed he had not misunderstood what the Police and Crime Commissioner did.  He referred to a meeting and discussion that had taken place before Christmas and the accountability and effectiveness of the Commissioner and the Panel.  The Police and Crime Commissioner still proposed to increase the precept, but failed to look at his own area to provide savings.

It was difficult to determine whether Police Officers that were recruited were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 443.

To put questions, if any, to Cabinet Members and Committee Chairpersons (or their representatives) under Council Procedure Rules 11(1) and 11(3).

(1)           Councillor Jepson asked would the Service look at increasing the funding available from their budget for the cleaning and maintenance of street furniture and allocating it to the area managers under the new zonal working system. This would enable all cleansing operations to be under the same Service area, better co-ordinated, improve the appearance of the Borough and the safety of its residents.   

Councillor Allen explained any cleaning of street furniture that was necessary, and the installation of litter bins, was already undertaken by the Council’s Zonal Teams.

However, the maintenance and installation of other street furniture, such as benches and bollards, was undertaken by Highway Services. This was due to the equipment and expertise required to undertake installation safely and to the required standard.

The Teams worked closely together and were all managed under the same Assistant Director for Community Safety and Streetscene Services.

The Council had delivered extra investment in Services to improve the safety and cleanliness of neighbourhoods over the last 2 years, including:-

·            Investment in additional mechanical street sweepers across the Borough.

·            £60,000 per year to allow scheduled weed control and cleansing to take place across the majority of the Borough’s dual carriageways and arterial routes, once per year.

·            £100,000 per year for an improved response to cleaning issues at the weekends.

At the same time, the additional capital investment that had been committed for bins would start to be delivered in the coming weeks, which should also help to improve the appearance of some street furniture.

In a supplementary question Councillor Jepson would like to see more pride being taken in the Borough and ensure that cleaning of signs, street name signs and street furniture were implemented.  It just needed co-ordinated effort and a commitment from the Council and other interested parties.  He himself would be happy to help out.

Councillor Allen gave an undertaking to organise a meeting once she had met with the Assistant Director with responsibility for that area.  She would then facilitate discussions to see what could be arranged with the Zonal Team Managers and the logistics of such a task.

(2)  Councillor Carter asked had the Council reduced the frequency of litter and dog waste bin collections during the pandemic, and what had the impact of this been?

Councillor Allen confirmed the Council had not reduced the frequency of litter or dog waste bin collections during the pandemic.

Like any Council or other public service, throughout the pandemic, the street cleaning teams had on occasions, suffered through staff absence due to illness and self-isolation. During the recent wintry weather, some street cleaning staff were also required to support gritting activities. Whilst this had sometimes impacted on services, the Cabinet Member was proud of the way the Service had been able to maintain the cleanliness of the Borough in this most difficult of times.

Councillor Carter was aware isolation was a big factor in the pandemic, but residents had noticed a visible deterioration in the street scene.  He asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 444.

Any other public items which the Mayor determines are urgent.

There were no urgent items.