Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Flewitt and Wexham.

·                Councillor Arscott

People Scrutiny Committee – 29^th November 2016

Minute 503 - Schools Progress report – non pecuniary – Governor at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School;

·                Councillor Assenheim

People Scrutiny Committee – 29^th November 2016

Minute 498 - Sheltered Housing review – non-pecuniary - sister lives in sheltered housing;

Policy & Resources Scrutiny Committee – 1^st December 2016

Minute 512 - Sheltered Housing – non-pecuniary – sister lives in sheltered housing accommodation;

·                Councillor Ayling

Cabinet Committee – 3^rd November 2016

Minute 420 (Objections to Traffic Regulation Orders – Station Avenue) – Non-pecuniary interest: Has spoken with residents in East Street;

Minute 421 - North Avenue, South Avenue and Central Avenue) – Non-pecuniary interest: Has spoken with residents in the roads.

·                Councillor Borton

People Scrutiny Committee – 29^th November 2016

Minute 495 - MPR; Mental Health Strategy - non-pecuniary – daughter mental health nurse at Rochford Hospital;

Health & Wellbeing Board – 7^th December 2016

Interest in all minutes – Disclosable Non-pecuniary interest – Council appointed member of People Scrutiny Committee;

Full Council – 15^th December 2016

Minute 565 – NoM: State Pension Arrangements for 1950’s Women – non-pecuniary interest – will be affected by the change in pension age (born in the 1950’s);

·                Councillor Boyd

People Scrutiny Committee – 29^th November 2016

Minute 503 - School Progress report – non-pecuniary – Governor at Westcliff High School for Girls and South East Essex Academy Trust, south east Essex Teaching School Alliance;

·                Councillor Buckley

Development Control Committee – 9^th November 2016

Minute 465 – 16/01520/FULH – non-pecuniary – lives in the vicinity and represented objector at the meeting;

People Scrutiny Committee – 29^th November 2016

Minute 498 – Sheltered Housing Review – non-pecuniary – partner’s parent lives in private sheltered housing (Truro);

·                Councillor Callaghan

          Development Control Committee – 9^th November 2016

Minute 468 - 16/01350/FUL - 7-9 Lansdowne Avenue, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1LJ – Disqualifying non-pecuniary interest: Applicant is well known to him (withdrew);

·                Councillor Courtenay

People Scrutiny Committee – 29^th November 2016

interest in the referred item / called in items; attended pursuant to the dispensation agreed at Council on 19th July 2012, under S.33 of the Localism Act 2011;

·                Councillor Cox

Place Scrutiny Committee – 28^th November 2016

Interests in all the called-in/referred items; attended pursuant to the dispensation agreed at Council on 19th July 2012, under S.33 of the Localism Act 2011.

·                Councillor Davies

Policy & Resources Scrutiny Committee – 1^st December 2016

Minute 513 - Response to issues in York Road – non-pecuniary – lives in York Road;

·                Councillor Flewitt

Licensing Sub Committee – 18^th October 2016

Minute 381 – Shell Sovereign, 96-118 Prince Avenue, Application for the Variation of Premises Licence – non-pecuniary – consulted by officers as to evidence process (as Executive member);

Development Control Committee – 9^th November 2016

Minute 465 – 16/01520/FULH – non-pecuniary – lives in the vicinity and dealt with process of representation;

Place Scrutiny Committee –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 545.

Presentation of the Yule Log

Councillor Aylen presented to the Council a Yule Log.

The relevant Executive Councillors responded to written questions received from Members of the Public.

The relevant Executive Councillors responded to written questions received from Councillors.

Prayer of the Petition attached.

Councillor Boyd presented a petition on behalf of local residents requesting the Council to put in place measures to keep Darlinghurst Primary School pupils safe.

Resolved:

That, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.5, the petition be referred to Cabinet Committee.

Prayer of the Petition attached

Councillor Buckley presented a petition on behalf of local residents requesting that the Council put in place measures to deal with excessive speeding along Wells Avenue.

Resolved:

That, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.5, the petition be referred to Cabinet Committee.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:-

That the Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday 20^th October 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and signed.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted and the recommendations contained in Minutes 443, 444 and 446, be adopted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted and the recommendations contained in Minutes 483, 484 and 485*, be adopted.

(*In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 40.2 Councillor Gilbert had his name recorded against the decision to adopt Minute 485.)

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Minutes attached.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted, subject to the inclusion of Councillor Nevin as being in attendance at the meeting.

Minutes to follow

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting be noted.

Notice of Motion attached.

Resolved:

That, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8.4, the following notice of motion be referred to Cabinet:

‘Given the recent anti-social criminal acts that have occurred in the York Road area of Southend in recent times, I would like to submit the following as a Motion for the Council to consider.

Under current legislation it could be appropriate for the Council to compulsory purchase properties in York Road which have generated misuse of drugs and dangerous ASB. The section of road proposed to be considered is between Baltic Avenue and Queensway on both sides of the road. Once purchased the HMO’s can be controlled and properly maintained by the Council via the ALMO. The detrimental effect the ASB in the area is having on local businesses is apparent and could have a knock on effect for the town centre and eventually the whole town.’

Proposed by Cllr Mike Assenheim

Seconded by Cllr Martin Terry

Notice of Motion attached.

Resolved:

That, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8.4, the following notice of motion be referred to Cabinet:

‘The Council calls upon the Government to make fair transitional state pension arrangements for all women born on or after 6th April 1951, who have unfairly borne the burden of the increase to the State Pension Age (SPA) with lack of appropriate notification.

Hundreds of thousands of women had significant pension changes imposed on them by the Pensions Acts of 1995 and 2011 with little/no/personal notification of the changes. Some women had only two years notice of a six-year increase to their state pension age.

Many women born in the 1950's are living in hardship. Retirement plans have been shattered with devastating consequences. Many of these women are already out of the labour market, caring for elderly relatives, providing childcare for grandchildren, or suffer discrimination in the workplace so struggle to find employment.

Women born in this decade are suffering financially. These women have worked hard, raised families and paid their tax and national insurance with the expectation that they would be financially secure when reaching 60. It is not the pension age itself that is in dispute - it is widely accepted that women and men should retire at the same time.

The issue is that the rise in the women's state pension age has been too rapid and has happened without sufficient notice being given to the women affected, leaving women with no time to make alternative arrangements.

The Council calls upon the Government to reconsider transitional arrangements for women born on or after 6th April 1951, so that women do not live in hardship due to pension changes they were not told about until it was too late to make alternative arrangements.’

Proposed by: Councillor Julian Ware-Lane

Seconded by: Councillor McDonald

Notice of Motion attached.

Resolved:

That, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8.4, the following notice of motion be referred to the Cabinet:

‘In April 2013 DCLG  published 'Section 106 affordable housing requirements '

This stated that: 

'2. Unrealistic Section 106 agreements negotiated in differing economic conditions can be an obstacle to house building. The Government is keen to encourage development to come forward, to provide more homes to meet a growing population and to promote construction and economic growth. Stalled schemes due to economically unviable affordable housing requirements result in no development, no regeneration and no community benefit. Reviewing such agreements will result in more housing and more affordable housing than would otherwise be the case.'

Inevitably this has led to many schemes all over the country (including recently permitted schemes which haven’t had time to ‘stall’) but which include affordable housing being amended to delete that housing.   The financial equivalents which are give as an alternative do not equate to the actual built development which is lost.

According to recent figures from DCLG the number of new affordable homes built in 2015-16 fell by over 50% between 2014/15 and 2015/16. The Local Government Association estimates up to 5.4 million people will need affordable housing by 2024.  The need is desperate and we consider the current position to be incompatible with an inclusive and caring society, hamstringing local authorities in providing for affordable housing and detrimental to the social wellbeing of residents.

It is therefore requested that this Council, through the Local Government Association, or alone if it has to, seeks the support of other Councils for a case to be made to Government that the ability to review provisions in agreements relating to affordable housing on the grounds of viability should be rescinded and that affordable housing  becomes mandatory in developments either within the development, on suitable alternative sites at the developer's expense or through the true equivalent in financial contributions, thus allowing Councils to secure suitable affordable housing provision for their residents.’

Proposed by: Cllr Carole Mulroney

Seconded by: Cllr Ian Gilbert

Report of the Chief Executive attached.

The Council considered a report of the Chief Executive which presented the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2017/18.

Resolved:

1. That the general principles of the current Local Council Tax Support Scheme be re-adopted for 2017/18.

2. That the minor technical changes made within the housing benefit assessment criteria as per paragraph 5.1 of the submitted report be mirrored in the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2017/18 to provide consistency across the schemes.

Report of the Chief Executive attached.

The Council considered a report of the Chief Executive which proposing the new external appointments process from 2018/19 introduced by the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA), following the closure of the Audit Commission.

Resolved:

That the Public Sector Audit Appointments’ (PSAA) invitation to ‘opt in’ to the sector led option for the appointment of external auditors for five financial years commencing 1^st April 2018, be approved.

Report of the Chief Executive attached.

The Council considered a report of the Chief Executive which recommended changes to the Constitution to reflect the new senior management and departmental arrangements.

Resolved:

1. That the Scheme of Delegation to Officers in Part 3 Schedule 3 of the Constitution be amended as set out in Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

2. That the Management Structure of the Council in Part 7 of the Constitution be amended as set out in Appendix 2 to the report.

3. That references throughout the Constitution to Chief Officers and Departments be amended to reflect the new titles agreed by Council on the 20^th October 2016 when it endorsed changes to the Senior Management and Departmental arrangements.

Resolved:

That the following appointments to Committees, be noted:

1. The appointment of Councillor McGlone to fill the UKIP vacancy on the People Scrutiny Committee;

2. The appointment of Mr Kash Pandya as the non-voting co-opted member to the Audit Committee;

3. The appointments of Mr John Jenkins and Mr Edward Feddon as the Youth Council observer representatives on the People Scrutiny Committee.