Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - City Hall, Bradford

Contact: Jill Bell / Yusuf Patel 

Items
No. Item

151.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

(Members Code of Conduct - Part 4A of the Constitution)

 

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

 

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

 

Notes:

 

(1)       Members may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

 

(2)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

 

Minutes:

No disclosures of interest in matters under consideration were received.

 

152.

INSPECTION OF REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

 

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

 

(Jill Bell - 01274 434580)

Minutes:

There were no appeals submitted to review restricted documents.

 

153.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE EXECUTIVE

To note any recommendations to the Executive that may be the subject of report to a future meeting.  (Schedule to be tabled at the meeting). 

 

 (Jill Bell - 01274 434580)

 

Minutes:

There were no referrals to the Committee.

 

154.

THE RELOCATION OF HER MAJESTY'S CORONER'S OFFICE ("HMCO") pdf icon PDF 117 KB

.

The Strategic Director Corporate Resources will submit a report

(Document “CI” that contains not for publication Appendix 2) that provides an update on the proposed relocation of HMCO and associated cost implications, prompted by concerns relating to the present accommodation in the Magistrates’ Court.

 

Recommended –

 

To approve the additional capital funds required to meet the current budget deficit and to authorise the Strategic Director Corporate Resources, in consultation with the Leader, to take all necessary decisions to implement the decision.

 

                                                                        (Imran Khan – 01274 4326018)   

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Strategic Director Corporate Resources submitted a report

(Document “CI” that contained not for publication Appendix 2) that provided an update on the proposed relocation of HMCO and associated cost implications, prompted by concerns relating to the present accommodation in the Magistrates’ Court.

 

The Assistant Director Estates and Property gave a synopsis of the proposals and the rationale behind the relocation as well as the cost implications which were set out in the NFP appendix.  In essence the current location of the Coroner’s office and accommodation was not fit for purpose.  In devising the proposals and in the context of the previous approval to relocate the offices, and following detailed design development with the Coroner’s officer,  additional cost implications had now been identified, and the business case had now been fully costed.

 

The Leader stressed the need for a fit for purpose building, given the importance of the work of the Coroner’s office.

 

The Coroner was present at the meeting and explained the detailed discussions he had had with officers to ensure that the plans met the requirements of and were both compassionate and empathetic to its end use.  He elaborated that the current location of the Coroner’s office was not fit for purpose, whereas the new location would incorporate a faith and family room and offer surroundings that would support families and provide dignity, at a very difficult time in their lives.  He added that the facility would serve the greater West Yorkshire region and although the request for additional resources now identified came at a difficult time, the proposals should be approved.

 

Opposition group Councillors asked a number of the questions around capital and annual running costs in comparison to existing costs, as well as the arrangements within the new location, and the Assistant Director explained that given the financial sensitivities, that he would provide a detailed response to the Councillors outside of this meeting.

                  

In response to a question regarding the adequacy of the parking arrangements, the Assistant Director stated that sufficient parking would become available, once the University car park land in the vicinity transferred into Council ownership.

 

The Assistant Director also emphasised that the current arrangements meant that not all the staff in the Coroners’ officer were based in the same location, and that the functions of the office had outgrown the current accommodation.

 

The Deputy Leader in welcoming the proposals stated that the proposals afforded a great opportunity to have a community focussed, fit for purpose accommodation, and it was therefore:

 

Resolved –

 

That the additional capital funds required to meet the current budget deficit be approved and that the Strategic Director Corporate Resources be authorised, in consultation with the Leader, to take all necessary decisions to implement the decision.

 

ACTION: Strategic Director Corporate Resources

 

 

REGENERATION, PLANNING & TRANSPORT PORTFOLIO

(Councillor Ross-Shaw)

155.

HAWORTH, CROSS ROADS & STANBURY NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN pdf icon PDF 124 KB

The report of the Strategic Director of Place (Document “CG”) concerns the Haworth, Cross Roads & Stanbury Neighbourhood Development Plan which has been prepared by the Parish Council. The Plan has now been subject of an independent examination by Rosemary Kidd and her report confirms that the Plan, subject to the incorporation of a number of modifications meets the Basic Conditions outlined in legislation. She has recommended that the Plan proceeds to local referendum.

 

The report recommends that the Council agree to all of the proposed modifications and that the modified plan proceeds to referendum. This will take place in May 2021.

 

Recommended -

 

(1)          That the submitted Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Neighbourhood Development Plan (Appendix 1 to Document “CG”) is subject to the modifications (Recommendations 1 to 29) as set out in the Examiner’s Report (Appendix 2 to Document “CG”), together with any relevant factual changes.

 

(2)          That it is then subject to a local referendum

 

(3)          That should the plan be successful at referendum, the plan should be formally made via delegated decision by the Assistant Director (Planning, Transportation & Highways) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder (Regeneration, Planning & Transport) in line with the agreed governance arrangements.

 

                                                                        (Andrew Marshall - 01274 434050

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The report of the Strategic Director of Place (Document “CG”) set out the Haworth, Cross Roads & Stanbury Neighbourhood Development Plan which had been prepared by the Parish Council. The Plan had now been subject of an independent examination by Rosemary Kidd and her report confirmed that the Plan, subject to the incorporation of a number of modifications meets the Basic Conditions outlined in legislation. She had recommended that the Plan proceeds to local referendum.

 

The report recommended that the Council agree to all of the proposed modifications and that the modified plan proceeds to referendum. This will take place in May 2021.

 

The former Chairman of the Parish Council was present at the meeting and stated that the NDP had been a long time in gestation and involved three distinct communities, with differing aspirations, however the Plan had managed to capture the views of these communities, and he expressed his gratitude to all those involved in ensuring the Plan came to fruition. 

 

A Ward Councillor was also present at the meeting and in welcoming the Plan, explained that it was important that that NDP had managed to capture the distinct heritage of the three villages.

 

The Regeneration, Planning and Transport Portfolio Holder in echoing the above comments thanked all parties for their invaluable contribution in devising the NDP.

 

Resolved -

 

(1)          That the submitted Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Neighbourhood Development Plan (Appendix 1 to Document “CG”) is subject to the modifications (Recommendations 1 to 29) as set out in the Examiner’s Report (Appendix 2 to Document “CG”), together with any relevant factual changes.

 

(2)          That it is then subject to a local referendum.

 

(3)          That should the plan be successful at referendum, the plan should be formally made via delegated decision by the Assistant Director (Planning, Transportation & Highways) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder (Regeneration, Planning & Transport) in line with the agreed governance arrangements.

                                                           

ACTION: Assistant Director Transportation Design and Planning

 

(Andrew Marshall - 01274 434050

 

LEADER OF COUNCIL & CORPORATE

(Councillor Hinchcliffe)

156.

PROPOSED CONSULTATION TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF BRADFORD COUNCIL'S EQUALITY OBJECTIVES AND EQUALITY PLAN pdf icon PDF 550 KB

It is essential that equality and social justice must be at the heart of everything the Council does. It is important that we seek to operate as an Authority and in our District leadership role in a way where everyone has opportunities to achieve their full potential regardless of who they are or where they live.

 

Our Equality Objectives and Equality Plan and our other plans that sit alongside them are there to help ensure equality is mainstreamed throughout the organisation.  By law, we need to review the Council Equality Objectives every four years. Over the summer, we have been doing this through engagement with employees and Elected Members. This has included focus groups with the Council Management Team and our staff including individuals with particular protected characteristics.

 

Through this process, we have recognised the need to do more and enhance our organisation’s commitment to this agenda. The proposed draft Equality Objectives and Equality Plan to deliver these is included as Appendix 2 to this report.

 

The report of the Chief Executive (Document “CE”) seeks the approval of Executive to consult on the draft Equality Objectives, and Equality Plan together with the draft Council Plan, for a period of six weeks from the 7 October to the 17 November 2020.

 

Recommended –

 

The Executive is recommended to:

 

(1)          Approve the proposal to consult on the draft Equality Objectives and Equality Plan for a period of six weeks from the 7 October to the 17 November 2020 as outlined in Appendix 3 to Document “CE”.

 

(2)          Approve that one consultation process is undertaken that covers the wider consultation on the draft Equality Objectives and Equality Plan and on the draft Council Plan with the aim of ensuring the Objectives and Plan remain aligned.

 

(3)          That the Workforce Development Strategy to be presented to Executive in December 2020 should contain Key Performance Indicators and targets for staff with particular protected characteristics in senior management posts, and be aligned with the workforce KPIs and targets within the finalised Equality Plan, along with a plan for how to achieve this.

 

(4)          Request that the Health and Wellbeing Board, in recognition of the link between inequality and health inequalities, consider creating a District equality group including the full set of partners such as the NHS, the Police, the Fire Service and the Voluntary and Community Sector.

                                                                        (Phil Witcherley – 01274 431241)

 

Minutes:

It is essential that equality and social justice was at the heart of everything the Council does. It is important that we seek to operate as an Authority and in our District leadership role in a way where everyone has opportunities to achieve their full potential regardless of who they are or where they live.

 

Our Equality Objectives and Equality Plan and our other plans that sit alongside them are there to help ensure equality is mainstreamed throughout the organisation.  By law, there is a need to review the Council Equality Objectives every four years. Over the summer, we have been doing this through engagement with employees and Elected Members. This has included focus groups with the Council Management Team and our staff including individuals with particular protected characteristics.

 

Through this process, we have recognised the need to do more and enhance our organisation’s commitment to this agenda. The proposed draft Equality Objectives and Equality Plan to deliver these was included as Appendix 2 to the report

 

The report of the Chief Executive (Document “CE”) sought the approval of Executive to consult on the draft Equality Objectives, and Equality Plan together with the draft Council Plan, for a period of six weeks from the 7 October to the 17 November 2020.

 

The Leader emphasised that that equality objectives were at the heart of everything we do as an organisation and that the contribution of all is welcomed, however the Council was just one of many public sector organisations, and  therefore this piece of work had to be an instrumental part of the work of all our partners.

 

The Chief Executive highlighted that although some exemplary work was going on, there was an acknowledgement that our workforce was not representative of the communities that we served.  In the context of the current pandemic and the in the context of the Black Lives Matters movement, there was now a great emphasis and impetus to address underrepresentation and make a cultural shift, which the Plan aimed to achieve.

 

The Leader stressed the importance of tackling structural racism, as well as attracting talent from within our different communities and ensure that there was a level playing field.

 

The Human Resources Director stated that as an organisation it was acknowledged that more needed to be done. To this end staff engagement had been done over the summer months.  That there was a strong commitment from Corporate Management Team to ensure that this piece of work was taken forward and that staff engagement and contribution  was central to ensuring we got things right going forward.

 

The Neighbourhoods and Community Safety Portfolio Holder in welcoming the proposal to consult on the Plan, highlighted the need to ensure that the targets were sufficiently challenging and robust.

In response to a question regarding positive discrimination, it was stressed by the Leader, that as an organisation we had to work within the confines of the law, however the objectives would encourage and enable applicants to apply for jobs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 156.

157.

COUNCIL PLAN 2021-2025 pdf icon PDF 671 KB

 

The Council Plan is a key document that outlines the Council’s overall strategic objectives as a Local Authority over a four year period and identifies our key priorities. The draft Council Plan for 2021 – 2025 identifies the Council’s key priorities for this period including Better Skills, More Good Jobs and a Growing Economy; Decent Homes; Good Start, Great Schools; Better Health, Better Lives; Safe, Strong and Active Communities and a Well Run Council.

 

These are the same priorities as in the existing Council Plan. Given that the Council has declared a climate emergency, an additional priority area “A Sustainable District” has been included in this draft Council Plan.

 

The report of the Chief Executive (Document “CF”)provides a draft Council Plan (Appendix 1) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and targets (Appendix 2) for Executive’s approval for consultation with the public, Council employees and partners. If approved for consultation, it is proposed that the draft Plan will be considered further by Executive following consultation.

 

 

Recommended -

That Executive approve the draft Council Plan set out in Appendix 1 to Document “CF” and draft Key Performance Indicators and targets set out in Appendix 2 to Document “CF”.

 

                                                                        (Phil Witcherley – 01274 431241)

Minutes:

The Council Plan is a key document that outlines the Council’s overall strategic objectives as a Local Authority over a four year period and identifies our key priorities. The draft Council Plan for 2021 – 2025 identified the Council’s key priorities for this period including Better Skills, More Good Jobs and a Growing Economy; Decent Homes; Good Start, Great Schools; Better Health, Better Lives; Safe, Strong and Active Communities and a Well Run Council.

 

These are the same priorities as in the existing Council Plan. Given that the Council has declared a climate emergency, an additional priority area “A Sustainable District” has been included in this draft Council Plan.

 

The report of the Chief Executive (Document “CF”)provided a draft Council Plan (Appendix 1) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and targets (Appendix 2) for Executive’s approval for consultation with the public, Council employees and partners. If approved for consultation, it is proposed that the draft Plan will be considered further by Executive following consultation.

 

The Leader stressed the need to tackle poverty and reduce health inequalities, which the current pandemic had brought to the fore, and therefore the Council Plan was a crucial piece of work in becoming a more sustainable district.

 

The Chief Executive highlighted that the Council Plan was a key document for framing our budget and financial strategy.

 

An opposition group Councillor was present at the meeting and stated that the recent lockdown had had a profound impact on education and a robust plan needed to be in place to ensure that there was no long term harm on the life chances of young people, particularly in the context of the already challenging issues we faced as a district.

 

The Leader emphasised that catch up provision had already been looked at, and the Deputy Leader stated that as a Council we had established strong links with most schools in the district, and that the improvement work and achieving good outcomes would continue in earnest..

 

Resolved -

That the draft Council Plan set out in Appendix 1 to Document “CF” and draft Key Performance Indicators and targets set out in Appendix 2 to Document “CF” be approved.

 

ACTION: Chief Executive

 

158.

EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

Recommended –

 

That the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of the Not for Publication Document “CH” on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the proceedings, that if they were present, exempt information within paragraph 3 (financial or business affairs) and 5 (legal privilege) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) would be disclosed and it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in allowing the public to remain is outweighed by the public interest in excluding public access to the relevant part of the proceedings for the following reasons:

 

It is in the public interest in maintaining these exemptions because it is in the overriding interest of proper administration that Members are made fully aware of the financial and legal implications of any decision.

 

                                                            (Jill Bell – 01274 434580)

Minutes:

Resolved –

 

That the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of the Not for Publication Document “CH” on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the proceedings, that if they were present, exempt information within paragraph 3 (financial or business affairs) and 5 (legal privilege) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) would be disclosed and it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in allowing the public to remain is outweighed by the public interest in excluding public access to the relevant part of the proceedings for the following reasons:

 

It is in the public interest in maintaining these exemptions because it is in the overriding interest of proper administration that Members are made fully aware of the financial and legal implications of any decision.

 

159.

LATEST UPDATE MARKETS REDEPLOYMENT PLAN

The Strategic Director’s of Corporate Resources and Place will submit a report (NFP Document “CH”) which contains the latest update markets redeployment plan and how to support existing tenants.

 

Recommended –

 

That the recommendations contained in NFP Document “CH” be approved.

 

                                                            (Kirsty Reid - 07976 947814)

 

Minutes:

The Strategic Director’s of Corporate Resources and Place submitted a report (NFP Document “CH”) which contained the latest update markets redeployment plan and how to support existing tenants.

 

Resolved –

 

That the recommendations contained in NFP Document “CH” be approved.

 

ACTION: Strategic Director Corporate Resources