To elect the Chairman of the Council for the 2012-2013 civic year.

The Head of Paid Service, Sue Pangbourne to request nominations.

Following the election, the chairman will make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and address the Council.

Councillor Norman Stephens was nominated for the office of Chairman of

the Council.

RESOLVED- that Councillor Norman Stephens be appointed to the office of

Chairman of the Council for the 2012-13 civic year

The chairman made his declaration of acceptance of office and thanked

members for electing him. He said that he believed he had been even handed during sometimes difficult debates with difficult decisions to make in the previous year. He welcomed the public to come to the council chamber and listen to good, informed debate on matters to benefit the district as a whole. He asked members to be less political than those at Westminster and not name other members. He hoped for a happy year.

To appoint the Vice Chairman of the Council for the 2012 – 2013 civic year.

Following the appointment, the vice chairman will make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and address the Council.

Councillor Jane Horne was nominated for the office of Vice-chairman of

the Council.

RESOLVED-  that Councillor Jane Horne be appointed to the office of

Vice-chairman of the Council for the 2012-13 civic year.

The Vice-chairman made her declaration of acceptance of office and thanked

members for electing her.

She looked forward to serving the people of the district, regardless of political or other views.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Max Coborn, Gethyn Davies, Julia Gooch and Di Martin.

To confirm the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 26 April 2012.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 April 2012 were confirmed and signed as an accurate record.

The chairman to identify any items of urgent business.

The chairman identified no items of urgent business on this occasion.

To receive any declarations of interest in any matter to be discussed at the meeting.  Members and officers are requested to identify the nature of the interest and indicate whether it is personal or prejudicial.

No declarations of interest were made.

The chairman thanked officers for their planning and organisation for the passage of the Olympic Torch through a part of the district. In particular he thanked the Strategic Director, the Group Manager for Finance and Property and the emergency-planning team. He added his thanks to staff, Cllrs Hale and Horne and volunteers from Hartpury and Gloucestershire College for stewarding the event. He said that it had shown how well the council worked with partners such as the police, going above and beyond normal working.

Cllrs Horne, Burford and Ede added their thanks, all agreeing that the council should be proud of its staff members, who had shown excellent and efficient organisation skills.

The Chairman to acknowledge this Council’s support for the recent civil emergency incident in Cheltenham and in particular to thank the four members of staff who took part in the multi-agency response, at short notice, and worked right through the Friday night running rest centres.  The members of staff were Karen Rushworth, Julie Jones, Claire Giles and Chris Ball.

The Chairman acknowledged this Council’s support for the recent civil emergency incident in Cheltenham and in particular thanked the four members of staff who took part in the multi-agency response, at short notice, and worked right through the Friday night running rest centres.  The members of staff were Karen Rushworth, Julie Jones, Claire Giles and Chris Ball.

“At the Full Council meeting on 1 March, the recommendations from Scrutiny with regards the Bus Links Inquiry were all passed.  On 19 April I emailed the Leader asking what progress had been made, but have received no answer.  Therefore I am repeating the question at Full Council, as follows:

1.      Have the letters been written to the Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, the relevant minister of the Welsh Assembly and the government at Westminster urging them to improve the integration of transport provision throughout the district and cross border ( recommendation b)?

2.      Has the letter been written to the responsible officer at the County Council asking them to update the transport champion on changes as they happen (recommendation c)?

3.      What progress has been made in providing details of community transport to council offices, leisure centres, libraries, local doctors surgeries and hospitals within the county (recommendation f)?

4.      Why has the transport champion not been involved in – nor even informed – if these actions have been carried out?”

Councillor Marion Winship 

“At the Full Council meeting on 1 March, the recommendations from Scrutiny with regards the Bus Links Inquiry were all passed. On 19 April I emailed the Leader asking what progress had been made, but have received no answer. Therefore I am repeating the question at Full Council, as follows:

1. Have the letters been written to the Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, the relevant minister of the Welsh Assembly and the government at Westminster urging them to improve the integration of transport provision throughout the district and cross border (recommendation b)?

2. Has the letter been written to the responsible officer at the County Council asking them to update the transport champion on changes as they happen (recommendation c)?

3. What progress has been made in providing details of community transport to council offices, leisure centres, libraries, local doctors surgeries and hospitals within the county (recommendation f)?

4. Why has the transport champion not been involved in – nor even informed – if these actions have been carried out?”

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Patrick Molyneux

1.      Yes.

2.      Yes (by email).

3.      The Community transport details are published in the signpost booklet, which is updated regularly and printed by FVAF in small batches to avoid waste.  FVAF invoice the FoDDC for the printing of these materials. These booklets and the literature on the Community transport organisations are displayed at all the above locations.  The Council relies on the locations to inform us when they need new supplies.

4.      The Cabinet transport champion was informed before this agenda went to print that the correspondence had gone out.  Copies of the correspondence have been provided.

Supplementary question

Cllr Winship asked that since the role was so important and not straightforward as the district had no direct responsibility for transport, how could the cabinet support the champion in the future.

Response from Cllr Molyneux

He agreed that the role would be very important fulfilling in essence a lobbying function. The relevant cabinet members would invite the champion to meet, revisit the scrutiny report and formulate an action plan. The purpose would be to keep the district's needs in mind at county level and give the new role a flying start. He added that the cabinet would help all council champions when needed.

What car parking arrangements have been made for Officers and Members in relation to the Forest of Dean District Council car park when the car parking management charges are introduced on 1 July 2012?  

What car parking arrangements have been made for Officers and Members in relation to the Forest of Dean District Council car park when the car parking management charges are introduced on 1 July 2012?

Response from the Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Efficient Council and Planning Policy, Councillor Brian Robinson

As was made clear in the responses to the statutory consultation, no decisions have been made on the car park at the District Council offices but the matter is being kept under review.

Supplementary question

Cllr McMahon commented that many groups had expressed their wish to retain free parking and over 7,000 residents had expressed concerns. He asked for a re-think.

Response from Cllr Robinson

He replied that while he recognised that a large number had signed the petition, the district had over 80,000 residents, the issue had been fully debated and a decision made in the best interests of the district.

A £250 million pound Waste Collection Support Scheme fund is available for councils who change to, or maintain weekly waste collection services.  £50 million in 2012/13 and £100 million for the following 2 years.  This could amount to funding totalling up to £250K per annum.  Forest of Dean District Council have taken up the support for ‘freezing’ the Council Tax. 

The Forest of Dean District Council collection service meets the criteria for eligibility so why has this additional funding not been applied for?

A £250 million pound Waste Collection Support Scheme fund is available for councils who change to, or maintain weekly waste collection services. £50 million in 2012/13 and £100 million for the following 2 years. This could amount to funding totaling up to £250K per annum. Forest of Dean District Council have taken up the support for ‘freezing’ the Council Tax.

The Forest of Dean District Council collection service meets the criteria for eligibility so why has this additional funding not been applied for?

Response from the Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Martin Quaile

The Forest of Dean District Council collection service does not meet the criteria for eligibility.

The Weekly Collection Support Scheme is a challenge fund designed to support local authorities to introduce, retain or reinstate a weekly collection of residual waste and/or recycling (for example food (or organic) waste).

Bids have been invited from local authorities that:

·        Guarantee to introduce, retain or reinstate weekly collections of residual waste for five years; and

·        Provide environmental benefits or improvements on current environmental performance; and

·        Demonstrate value for money.

In addition, the Scheme will also accept bids from councils with a fortnightly refuse collection that do not currently offer a weekly food (or organic) waste collection.

Forest of Dean District Council is currently in the process of changing its collection scheme from a weekly collection of residual waste to a fortnightly collection of residual waste with a weekly collection of food (organic) waste. This does not therefore meet the criteria given above.  Direct advice was sought from the Department for Communities and Local Government to confirm this position.

The only way we could meet the criteria would be to reinstate a weekly collection of residual waste. In this circumstance the money offered by the support scheme would not be sufficient to cover the costs incurred in such a course of action and we therefore have no plans to apply for this funding.

Supplementary question

Cllr McMahon asked if the response had been formulated by an officer or the cabinet member.

Response from Cllr Quaile

He replied that it had been put together by himself and an officer. They had gone through it several times to ensure accuracy. He commented that Cllr McMahon had posed the question back in January 2012 and had received an answer then.

Why have the Council made cuts to the grant for the Youth Theatre when it was providing a valuable service for the young people of the Forest of Dean?

Why have the Council made cuts to the grant for the Youth Theatre when it was providing a valuable service for the young people of the Forest of Dean?

Response from the Cabinet Member for Community, Councillor Terry Hale

In previous years the Youth Theatre received a £15,000 grant through a service level agreement from the District Council.  In the 2008/09 budget it was agreed to phase out support and in 2010/11 a final grant of £5,000 was paid. 

The Youth Theatre could be eligible for a community grant but did not apply in 2011/12.  Similarly, they may be eligible for support through the youth activity funding pot (£50,000) which comes to us through the County Council and is then provided to the Youth Workers’ Network for decision and distribution.

Supplementary question

Cllr Edey asked if the Youth Theatre knew about the community grant

Response from Cllr Hale

He replied that all organisations were notified and that an advertisement had been placed in the local newspaper.

The Head of Paid Service to present report LD.418 setting out the notifications received under Regulation 8 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990.

The chairman introduced report LD.418 as being straightforward.

The Solicitor to the Council clarified for Cllr Horne that her ward was named Tibberton, even though it included a part of Newent.

Full Council noted report LD.148.

To consider report LD.417 and allocate committee seats to political groups and determine appointments to committees and other council bodies.

Please note that the council may be asked under this item to approve alternative arrangements to strict political proportionality for appointments to committees and other bodies in accordance with Regulation 20 of the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulations 1990.

The Head of Paid Service to convene the first meeting of each committee to elect its chairman and vice chairman.

Cllr Molyneux, Leader of the Council, presented report LD.417, referring members to annex A, which had been updated and tabled at the meeting.

The Solicitor to the Council informed the meeting that she had received the following names for the two vacancies on the Member Development Group: Cllr Edey and Cllr Elsmore.

Cllr O'Neill said that for the Appointments Committee the two Labour group members should read Cllr Di Martin and Cllr Bernie O'Neill.

Cllr Burford asked if it were permissible to nominate at this meeting a parish councillor for the vacancy on the Standards Committee.

The Solicitor to the Council replied that parishes had been asked for nominations and that under the Localism Act the council was not required to have a Standards Committee from 1 July 2012. A report would be presented to Full Council in July with recommendations on a way forward. However the committee had unfinished business and needed to meet in June, hence the need to appoint.

Cllr Diana Edwards said that no notice had been given about the possibility to nominate parish councillors, so other members had been unable to ask their parishes. It should therefore not be allowed.

The chairman agreed with Cllr Edwards and ruled that the Standards Committee membership remain as at the updated annex A.

Noting the addition to the Member Development Group and the change to the Appointments Committee, Cllr Molyneux proposed and Cllr Lawton seconded the recommendations as at report LD.417.

Councillors agreed to vote on a show of hands.

RESOLVED - to

(1) Determine that, having carried out a review under Section 15 of the

Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Council shall continue to

apply the political balance provisions under the Act;

(2) Appoint Councillors to serve on the Council’s Committees and other

Council bodies as at appendix 1 to the minutes for a term of office expiring at the next Annual Meeting of the Council save for the Standards Committee appointments;

(3) Appoint Councillors to serve on the Standards committee as at appendix 1 for a term of office expiring on the 1 July 2012 or such later date as required to enable the Committee to conclude its current caseload of complaints cases;

(4) Appoint Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen for the Council’s Committees for the Municipal Year, 2012/13 by asking members of each committee to stand and elect their Chairman and Vice chairman, as at appendix 1 to the minutes

 (5) Note that the Constitution Working group will bring a report to full council at its next meeting on the 12 July 2012 recommending the adoption of a new Code of Conduct and a streamlined system for handling of complaints against councillors under the new provisions of the Localism Act 2011and that arrangements will be made to recruit an Independent Person in due course

To approve any changes to the council appointments as detailed in report LD.419 for the term of the Council until 2015. 

Members considered report LD.419. Appointments were made as detailed at

appendix 2 to these minutes.

The Solicitor to the Council informed members that Cllr Coborn was stepping down as the representative on Gloucestershire Playing Fields Association and that there was a vacancy on Two Rivers Housing - Joint Development Forum.

Cllr Molyneux proposed and Cllr Diana Edwards seconded an amendment to remove the appointment of a council representative on the Alliance.

Speaking to his amendment Cllr Molyneux said that the council needed to look at the value for money aspect of the appointment, since membership of the Alliance cost the council £2,500 per year plus officer and member time and expenses. He acknowledged that the Alliance had been a great friend to the council in the past as the Coalfields Alliance; indeed it had begun the project for the regeneration of Cinderford. However he believed that it had become more of a lobbying group and officers who had attending meetings in 2011/12 had found nothing of use. He also believed that no member from the district had attended meetings in that year. He pointed out that £2500 represented about 25 per cent of the annual regeneration budget in spending terms.

Cllr O'Neill said that while he was new to the council, as a resident of Cinderford he was aware of how important the Alliance had been to the district and others in his group had a far greater knowledge.

Cllr Hogan expressed anger and sadness at Cllr Molyneux's sudden proposal, which had not been put forward as a motion.  He mentioned the sterling work undertaken by former councilor Frank Williams attending meetings all over the country for the benefit of the district, mostly without officer support.

Cllr Molyneux, on a point of information, stated that he had been accompanied by an officer when he had attended Alliance meetings ad the council's representative.

Cllr Hogan continued that the council had derived huge benefits from the Alliance and it would be wrong to dump it now that the council had got what it could. He was sure that Cllr Morgan read all papers received, but had not felt that he could justify traveling to Scotland for meetings at the expense of the council. He ended by saying that now was not the time to cut off possible future support from the Alliance by leaving it.

Cllr Bill Evans said that he did not have a detailed knowledge of the matter, but it seemed, sudden, shortsighted and premature to propose leaving the Alliance.

Cllr Gardiner acknowledged the amount of work and effort put in by Frank Williams. He asked why representatives had not attended meetings.

Cllr Winship asked if the council could rejoin in the future if it decided to leave at this point.

The Solicitor to the Council confirmed that she understood that it could.

Cllr Morgan, the council's current representative, said that he had been deeply involved since 1995 in the work of the Alliance and that if an officer had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.2

To consider report LD.420 and make an appointment of a member and deputy to the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel.

Cllr Molyneux presented report LD.420, commenting that this appointment was to an important position on a panel that would oversee and scrutinise the work of the new post of Police Commissioner. The member appointed must become fully involved and report back to the council as changes happen affecting the district.

Cllr Molyneux proposed and Cllr Robinson seconded an amendment to recommendation a) to change the term of office to one year in the first instance.

Cllr Molyneux explained that his amendment would enable the council to gauge how the panel was working. The amendment would not affect the working of the panel, which would be politically balanced and fluid to allow for different election regimes within the county.

The Solicitor to the Council confirmed for Cllr O'Neill that there would be no problem in appointing again the following year.

Cllr Burford commented that the issue had been discussed several times at length at the county scrutiny group, of which he was chair. The new panel's power would be among the greatest of any scrutiny committee or panel, since it would be able to reject the choice of a Chief Constable and veto the Police Commissioner's budget. He agreed that the council must appoint a representative who could 'pull their weight'.

Cllr Winship agreed as the council's representative on the Gloucestershire Community Safety Scrutiny Committee. She had also been briefed thoroughly and had recently attended a Police Authority meeting to begin to understand its work.

The Solicitor to the Council clarified for Cllr Hiett that the appointment would have no cost implication for the council.

RESOLVED - to

a)     appoint Cllr Marion Winship as member and Cllr Bernie O’Neill as deputy to the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel for the 2012/13 civic year.

b)     adopt the terms of reference at annex A to report LD.420, and the panel arrangements at annex B (attached)

c)      agree that the chair of the panel will receive a special responsibility allowance of £5,808 and that members of the panel will be able to claim travel, subsistence and carers’ allowances from the county council.

d)     agree that Gloucestershire County Council will be the host authority in establishing the panel and providing the necessary officer support.

To appoint a Transport Champion for the council.  The terms of reference for this role are attached.

Cllr Clive Elsmore was appointed the council's Transport Champion.

To receive Annual Reports for 2011/12 from the:

·        Audit Committee

·        Member Development Group

·        Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee

·        Council Member Champions for Children and Young People, Equalities, Health and Older People.

Cllr Birch presented the Audit Committee annual report, commenting that to see the committee's latest activities the minutes of its most recent meeting would be on the council's website the following day.

Cllr Thomson presented the Member Development Group annual report. He highlighted the attendance figures on agenda page 58, which he was assured were high for any council. The specific comments about training were very useful and member development had cost the council very little. He thanked Democratic Services for making ideas happen.

Cllr Stephens, who had previously been a member of the group, said that it was interesting work and had culminated in the achievement of the South West Charter for Elected Member Development.

Cllr Burford presented the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny annual report, highlighting the inquiry summaries in the second half of the report. He said that he made no apology for the length of the car park inquiry summary, as it had been such a major piece of work.

Cllr Horne, Council Children and Young People Champion commented that transport could be a problem for some youngsters. She also said that a future task would be to recruit more young people to become involved in initiatives.

Cllr Baynham, Council Health Champion updated members on the first bullet point of his report, saying that Ingrid Barker intended for Gloucestershire Care Services to become an NHS trust.

Cllr Hale added that the Community Engagement team, the cabinet and champion worked closely together in this area.

Cllr Whitburn, Council Equalities Champion, said that his role was interesting and that he was learning many new things. Additionally the Equalities Panel had several new members. He thanked officers for updating the website and organising meetings.

The Head of Paid Service confirmed for Cllr Gardiner that as a Cabinet champion he would present his report to the Cabinet in June.

The Leader of the Council and the Chairman of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee to report on recent activities, followed by questions from members. Depending on time the Chairman will rule and only take one question per member relating to reports.

a)       Cabinet – Councillor Patrick Molyneux

b)       Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Philip Burford

Cllr Molyneux said that he was pleased at the number of councillors attending recent Cabinet meetings and their useful input through asking questions. He encouraged more to attend. He commented that as a result of the scrutiny inquiry the Cabinet had listed and reduced car park charges.

Leisure management would be a key issue over the coming years and the council was looking to secure and improve leisure facilities, investing £80,000. He recognised the importance of the Coleford site and the need to work with partners to get the best outcome for the community for leisure, while also recognising concerns over the future of the theatre.

Cllr Hiett commented that the recent consultation regarding car park charging had been scant yet the few responses recieved had been used to change the consultation evidence. He added that his wife had made a comment and had not received a reply.

Cllr Molyneux said that he would follow up the issue of no reply. He emphasised that the recent consultation was purely a statutory duty regarding a traffic order, not a general consultation on the charging regime. The cabinet had made a decision based on many sources of evidence, including from individual members and the scrutiny inquiry.

Cllr Bill Evans asked how the cabinet intended to respond to petitions that were currently being completed, if they were submitted.

Cllr Molyneux replied that the council's policy would be followed. The cabinet had always stated that it would review the measure with full information after seeing how it panned out, but not make sudden decisions.

Cllr Gardiner commented that if the council were to undertake any consultation it should be full and meaningful. As an example of good practice he praised officers' work in setting up events such as road shows across the district for the statutory forest consultation.

Cllr Molyneux said that Cllr Gardiner had done sterling work and he looked forward to the Forestry Panel's report.

Cllr O'Neill highlighted the fact that the permits became cheaper if bought for longer periods of validity, yet it would be cheaper to pay for two separate hours at a ticket machine than for two hours. He also repeated a question about the council's response to a person who could not afford a season ticket.

Cllr Molyneux replied that it was possible to return to one's car after an hour to but a further one-hour ticket. Regarding the question, he said that he did not know all the details relating to the person. He reminded members that the alternative of raising Council Tax had been proposed and not accepted at Full Council.

Cllr Burford took the opportunity to invite all members to what would be a busy Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on Thursday 31 May. He also invited members to support the committee's meeting on 19 July, which would take place in Lydney Town Hall, as part of the initiative to take scrutiny to the community. Additionally the annual scrutiny event would be on 3  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Thursday 12 July 2012 at 7.00pm

Thursday 11 October 2012 at 7.00pm

Thursday 13 December 2012 at 7.00pm

Thursday 28 February 2013 at 7.00pm

Thursday 25 April 2013 at 7.00pm

Thursday 23 May 2013 at 7.00pm

Thursday 12 July 2012 at 7.00pm

Thursday 11 October 2012 at 7.00pm

Thursday 13 December 2012 at 7.00pm

Thursday 28 February 2013 at 7.00pm

Thursday 25 April 2013 at 7.00pm

Thursday 23 May 2013 at 7.00pm