Agenda and minutes

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

The Mayor hoped colleagues were enjoying the summer and being careful in the heat. A number of Councillors were not in attendance today, many as a result of having to self-isolate.

The Mayor  welcomed the opportunity to report on a number of engagements:-

·            Friday , 11th June saw the annual ceremonial tee-off for the RMBC Golf Society Mayor’s Charity Cup at the Grange Park Golf Club.

·            Saturday, 26th June saw the raising of the Armed Forces flag at the Town Hall to mark the occasion of Armed Forces Day.

This event was again undertaken with strict observance of Covid regulations but meeting socially distanced, the Mayor and Mayoress, the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress, the Armed Forces Champion, Councillor Eve Keenan, and John Healy MP, were honoured to be in the company of Major Adrian Hunt, Chairman of the Rotherham Military Community Veterans Centre, and veteran Ron Moffett MBE who raised the flag on behalf of the veterans of Rotherham.

·            The group re-assembled again the following week on Saturday, 3rd July when the flag was lowered by Ron Moffatt.

·            This Friday the post-Covid relaunch of the Military Community Veterans Centre will be attended at the New York Stadium.  The Mayor  was honoured to be invited to present Ron with an Armed Forces Flag in a commemorative box to thank him for his service in the Armed Forces and for all he has done for the veterans over the years.

Engagements would again commence in the next few months as restrictions on gatherings start to lift.

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

An apology for absence was received from Councillors Alam, Baker-Rogers, Ball, Clark, Cusworth, Hague, Haleem, Hoddinott, Lelliott, McClure, Miro, Monk, Read, Shepherd and Wilson.

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 report.

To receive the record of proceedings of the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 26^th May, 2021, and to approve the accuracy thereof.

Resolved: - That the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 26^th May, 2021 be approved for signature by the Mayor, subject to an amendment to Minute No. 15 (Memberships) to confirm the correct Chair and Vice-Chair for the Corporate Parenting Panel as:-

Councillor Cusworth, Cabinet Member (Chair)

Councillor Pitchley, Chair of Improving Lives Select Commission (Vice-Chair)

Mover: - Councillor Allen                         Seconder: - Councillor Roche

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

The Mayor introduced the report and confirmed the receipt of three petitions received since the last Council meeting which had not met the threshold for consideration by Council.

·              Containing 121 signatures calling on the Council to investigate HGV Activity through Maltby.

Mrs. J. Walker addressed the Council as part of the presentation of the petition.

·              Containing 258 signatures calling on the Council to provide a pedestrian crossing outside Kilnhurst Primary School, Hooton Road, Kilnhurst.

Councillor Sansome addressed the Council as part of the presentation of the petition.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2)  That the relevant Strategic Directors be required to respond to the lead petitioners, as detailed in the report, by 4^th August, 2021.

Mover: - Councillor Allen                         Seconder: - Councillor Beck

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.

There were no Declarations of Interest to report.

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. J. Smith was unable to attend the meeting and would receive a written response.

(2)  Mr. M. Marshall was unable to attend the meeting and would receive a written response.

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.

There were no items that required the exclusion of the press or public.

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

On behalf of the Leader the Deputy Leader presented an update statement and in doing so confirmed the country entering into Phase 4 of the Government’s roadmap on the 19^th July, 2021 relaxing all restrictions.

These changes needed to be approached with caution as by the end of this week Rotherham was likely to have reached its highest case rate during the pandemic with 537 cases per 100,000 residents.  This significant transmission increase was of concern and had resulted in thirteen Councillors not being able to attend today’s Council and ninety-three members of staff having to self-isolate.

The message of Hands – Face – Space – Vaccine was reinforced.  More detail would be provided in due course.

The Deputy Leader, on behalf of the whole Council, wished to formally congratulate the Leader, Councillor Read, and his partner, Councillor Hoddinott, on the safe arrival of their son, Joshua.

Councillor A. Carter also wished to place on record his own congratulations to the Leader and Councillor Hoddinott on their son’s birth.

Councillor A. Carter also asked about the impact of the increasing number of positive Covid cases and how this compared to previous peaks during the pandemic in terms of hospitalisations and deaths.

 Councillor Allen in response confirmed there to be twenty patients currently receiving treatment at the hospital, one of which was within intensive care.  So far no deaths had been recorded.

To note the minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held on 21^st June, 2021.

Resolved:- That the reports, recommendations and minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 21^st June, 2021 be received.   

Mover: - Councillor Allen                         Seconder: -  Councillor Beck

To inform Council of amendments to the nomination of Members to serve on Committees, Boards and Panels.

Further to Minute No. 15 to the meeting of Council held on 26^th May, 2021 consideration was given to the report which provided suggestions on amendments to the nomination of Members to serve on Committees, Boards and Panels.

Councillor A. Carter welcomed the approach to provide maternity leave for Elected Members, but noted there had been no request for suspension of the attendance at a meeting within six months rule.

Councillor Allen confirmed any such request would be reported back to the Council in due course.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the following amendments be confirmed:-

Improving Lives Select Commission:

Councillor Cowen is to be replaced by Councillor Andrews

Planning Board:

Councillor Aveyard is to be replaced by Councillor Lelliott

Licensing Board, Licensing Committee including sub-committees:

Councillor Cowen is to be replaced by Councillor Monk

(2)  That the Membership of the Health, Welfare and Safety Panel as follows be noted:-

·              Councillor Saghir Alam – Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance

·              Councillor Rose McNeely – Improving Places Select Commission

·              Councillor Lindsey Pitchley – Improving Lives Select Commission

·              Councillor Joanna Baker-Rogers – Overview and Scrutiny Management Board

·              TBC – Member and Democratic Panel

(3)  That the following maternity leave arrangements be noted for Councillor Browne to deputise for Councillor Hoddinott, on the Audit Committee as Vice-Chair and as a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board from 12th July, 2021 for an initial three-month period, which will be extended further if required.

Mover:-  Councillor Allen                         Seconder:-  Councillor Roche

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 be adopted.

Councillor A. Carter expressed his dissatisfaction with having received the Council Summons, to receive a further notification about potentially cancelling the Council Meeting due to the number of apologies.

Mover:- Councillor McNeely                    Seconder:- Councillor Griffin

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 be adopted.

Mover:- Councillor Wyatt                         Seconder:- Councillor Barley

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 be adopted.

Mover:- Councillor Roche                        Seconder:- Councillor Allen

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 be adopted.

Mover:- Councillor Atkin                          Seconder:- Councillor Bird

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 and Licensing Sub-Committee be adopted.

Mover:- Councillor Ellis                           Seconder:- Councillor Hughes

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).

No questions have been submitted.

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

Questions 1 to 4 from Councillor Jones were withdrawn.

(5)  Councillor A. Carter asked what evidence did the Licensing Committee take into account when dealing with allegations of noise or anti-social behaviour associated with an application?

Councillor Ellis confirmed all licensing applications were reviewed by a number of agencies, including the Police and Environmental Health, prior to a decision being made, any concerns regarding anti-social behaviour or noise would be brought to the attention of the Licensing Committee by those agencies.  In addition, any other person may raise concerns in relation to an application and these would also be considered by the Committee.  Evidence was presented in many forms including photographs, audio and video recordings and statements.

The Committee would consider evidence or information in whatever form it existed. 

Any person or agency that raised concerns regarding an application was also given the opportunity to address the Licensing Committee at the hearing where the application would be considered.  Any person raising concerns was, therefore, able to provide more detail to the Committee by expanding on the points that they raised during the application process.

In a supplementary question Councillor A. Carter asked what weight was given to concerns raised by members of the public when concerns had not been raised by statutory agencies.

Councillor Ellis pointed out all representations made were considered regardless of their origin when matters were brought before the relevant Committee.  The content was taken into account as part of the decision and relevant mitigation measures included where appropriate.

If Councillor A. Carter had any particular concerns Councillor Ellis, as Chair of the Licensing Board, was happy to discuss further.

(6)  Councillor A. Carter was to receive a written response to his question in the absence of the Cabinet Member.

(7)  Councillor A. Carterasked as many vital bus services have been lost around the Borough, what was the Council’s policy on bringing these back now Coronavirus restrictions have eased?

Councillor Beck explained the Council was acutely aware of the problems that the pandemic had caused to public transport services. The patronage was currently at around 60% pre-pandemic. The Council was working with the Sheffield City Region to support the South Yorkshire network providers in accessing the short-term Government funding through these difficult times.

A Levelling Up Fund Transport bid for £50m worth of capital investment to provide practical improvements for the travelling public had recently been submitted.

In a supplementary question Councillor A. Carter asked if the Cabinet Member would take forward with the Sheffield City Region the issue of networks and the need to ensure that businesses do not prioritise the most profitable routes.

Councillor Beck referred to the Rural Subsidy Gant that had supported rural communities and emphasised the need to support bus companies to ensure the infrastructure was in place.

(8)  Councillor Bacon referred to his recent walk around Aston and Todwick and the rest of the Borough where he could not help but notice the neglect of the Council – dangerous potholes,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Any other public items which the Mayor determines are urgent.

There were no urgent items for consideration.