Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2025, were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made.

To receive questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and responses thereto.

Details of questions should be notified to the Democratic Services Manager by 10.00am at least three working days prior to the meeting. Further information about speaking at a committee can be found here: Speaking at a Committee

A member of the public, Mr Frankum, submitted the following question, related to Minute No. 84:

·        “NO² reductions in our City is largely a welcome success story  this will be further improved with the addition soon, of Electric Buses, would council consider moving monitoring from a consistently low recorded area to Bovemoors Lane which monitoring has shown to suffer increased traffic, congestion & idling and is a concern to the local community”.

The Portfolio Holder for City Management responded that there had never been any diffusion tubes located in Bovemoors Lane as the location of the diffusion tube network sought to concentrate upon areas where there were higher volumes of car movements and therefore likely to be an issue with exceedance in nitrogen dioxide.

The nearest monitoring points were in Heavitree and Barrack Roads and as these locations had no exceedances this indicated that exceedance in Bovemoors Lane was unlikely as vehicle movement was lower and properties were set back from the road.

Mr Frankum in asking a supplementary question, stated that the Council’s records showed that over the last three years, Carter’s Court on Sidwell Street, recorded just 15.7, 15.9, and 16.1 NO² which were among the lowest in the city. Bovemoors Lane, however, had recorded 34 in a single day.

Devon County Council’s own count confirmed an increase in traffic on this busy lane and the hospital’s Chief Executive had said congestion there now delayed ambulances, particularly during peak times. He was surprised the council would dismiss these local concerns and asked if Bovemoors Lane could be reconsidered as a monitoring site.

The Portfolio Holder for City Management in responding thanked Mr Frankum for the detail provided and advised that the consideration of an additional diffusion tube could be included as part of the ongoing air quality management review and that his comments would be taken into consideration.

To consider recommendations made to the Executive from Scrutiny Committees.

There were no matters referred from the Scrutiny Committees for this meeting.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director of Operations.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that the Executive approves:

(1)   for the fare increase proposals (in Appendix C of the report) to be put out to public consultation in accordance with the statutory requirements to run from 6 November 2025 until 20 November 2025;

(2)   that the comments received during the earlier consultation, would be carried forward into the new consultation for consideration alongside any other responses received up to and including 20th November 2025; and

(3)   the Strategic Director of Operations, be granted delegated authority in agreement with the Portfolio Holder for City Management, to consider representations and determine whether to set a date for the revised table of fares to come into effect with, or without modifications.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which sought authority to undertake a further consultation period to satisfy the legal duties set out in Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

Members were reminded that a request had previously been received from the Chair of Exeter St Davids Hackney Carriage Association, for an increase to the Hackney Carriage Fare Tariff and the Executive meeting on 20 May 2025, had agreed to a six-week consultation between 27th May and 8th July 2025.

The six-week period did not allow for completion within the statutory two-month timescale required under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and it was proposed that a new two-week consultation be undertaken between 6 and 20 November 2025 to comply with legislative requirements and would incorporate the feedback already received.

Particular reference was made to the 74 responses received during the six?week consultation period, of which, 69 had been in support of the fare changes. Delegated authority was also being sought to enable the Strategic Director of Operations and Portfolio Holder for City Management to consider any representations made and whether to introduce the proposed changes, with or without modifications, following the consultation period.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·        the inclusion of data to meet statutory and charter obligations was supported and the additional two weeks was endorsed;

·        the environmental benefits outlined in section 9 of the report with regards to Exeter’s taxi fleet being among the greenest was welcomed;

·        fare increases would also support further environmental ambitions;

·        clarification was sought on the addition of two weeks in relation to the previous consultation;

·        taxi drivers had not received a rise for a number of years and the provisions for a resolution before Christmas were welcomed.

In response to questions and points raised by Members, the Portfolio Holder for City Management and the Strategic Director for Operations advised that:-

·        taxi drivers provided an essential service and a swift progression for fare increases through delegated powers was welcomed;

·        the initial plan was for four weeks but had been extended to six weeks to align with the Council’s Consultation Charter, and caused a timing issue with the statutory period;

·        a review of the Consultation Charter would be undertaken to ensure it incorporated regulatory/statutory periods of consultation; and

·        it was anticipated that new feedback in the consultation would mirror prior responses received.

Opposition group leaders raised the following points and questions:

·        the fares had been reported at a recent Taxi Forum meeting and had been supported;

·        there were 94 Hackney Carriage drivers in the city, who were considered as ambassadors of the city, and the increase was deserved;

·        praise was given to the Chairs of the two taxi associations and support was given for the delegation to the Portfolio Holder and Strategic Director to implement the changes before Christmas;

·        an enquiry was made on the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and assurances were sought on the powers of delegation, and whether the matter  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director of Operations.

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED that Council note the statutory annual status report.

RESOLVED that Executive:

(1)   note the statutory annual status report;

(2)   does not amend the current Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and agrees that the Head of Service scope out a programme to include the physical and financial resources to revise and consult upon the Air Quality Action Plan for the current Air Quality Management Area as well as an Air Quality Strategy for the city; and

(3)   ask that the Scrutiny Committee on 20 November 2025 formulate ideas that they would like to be considered as part of the scoping programme, so that these can be factored into the future report when the physical and financial resource is being looked at.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report and as amended at the meeting.

The Executive received the report statutory Annual Status report that had been submitted to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and contained the monitoring data from 2024, in-year summary of the actions taken to improve local air quality and future plans.

The Leader moved and Councillor Williams seconded an amendment to the report recommendations to read as follows:-

Two original recommendations remain unchanged as follows:

·        that Executive notes the statutory annual status report;

·        that Council notes the statutory annual status report;

To delete recommendations 2.2 and 2.4; and replace with:

·        that Executive does not amend the current Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and instead asks that the Head of Service scopes out a programme to include the physical and financial resource to revise and consult upon the Air Quality Action Plan for the current Air Quality Management Area as well as an Air Quality Strategy for the city; and

·        that scrutiny on 20 November 2025 is asked to formulate ideas that they would like to be considered as part of the scoping programme, so that these can be factored into the future report when the physical and financial resource is being looked at.

The Portfolio Holder for City Management in speaking to the reason for the amendments made the following points:

·        no area in Exeter currently exceeded the 40 micrograms per metre cube NO² exceedance which demonstrated that the Council was a on course for improved air quality across the city;

·        although one area in East Wonford Hill, previously exceeded 40 micrograms, it was now below that value, however, having an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) on a short stretch of road did not seem beneficial; and

·        there needed to be a focus on continuing to improve air quality across the whole city with a focus on developing a five-year air quality strategy.

In speaking to the amendment, the Portfolio Holder for City Management read some key points of information for Members to consider:

·        Air quality within the city had improved significantly over the last decade and was welcomed.

·        The monitoring data gathered from the diffusion tubes for NO², showed that no sites measured an exceedance of the annual average objective in 2024 for NO² and that exceedance was 40 micrograms per metre cubed. This was the first year when all measurements had been below the objective for NO² and marked a significant milestone in the continued improvement of the city's air quality.

·        There had been no exceedances from the previous year to create an unexpected dilemma for decision makers. For a number of years now, DEFRA's annual appraisal had stated that when a number of locations had more than three consecutive years without exceedance, the authority, in light of the Act and statutory guidance, needed to review the air quality management area with a view to covering the remaining areas that contained exceedances.

·        This report had correctly fulfilled that role by asking for a revision to be considered.

·        There was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer.

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED that Council grant:

(1) the indemnity for Officers and Members and adopts the policy for inclusion in Part IV (Codes and Protocols) of the Council’s constitution;

(2) a standing delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the s151 Officer and the Leader of the Council to:

a)     determine whether to meet the cost of any officer or Member liability or loss from the Council’s own resources, where the Council’s own insurance policy does not cover such a liability or loss; and

b)     agree and implement any necessary amendments to the indemnity policy where such amendments are required to reflect changes in legislation, insurance arrangements or best practice, provided that any substantive policy changes are reported back to Council for approval.</AI8>

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

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The Executive received the report which outlined the indemnity policy to be granted to Members and Officers, including former Members and Officers. The report also explained the Council’s power to grant an indemnity, its benefits and the proposed terms of the indemnity policy were outlined in Appendix 1 of the report, which would provide clarification to the position and terms of the indemnity for Members and Officers.

Particular reference was made to:-

·        as a matter of law, officers and members were generally not personally liable for a local authority’s actions;

·        statutory immunity applied when duties were exercised in good faith and without negligence;

·        under the Local Government Act 2000 and the 2004 Order, local authorities may grant indemnities when exercising functions as a Director of a company or as member of an outside body; and

·        the proposed policy provided indemnity subject to a number of exemptions, and it was common practice for a local authority to have an indemnity policy.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·        the report was welcomed and having clarity was important for officers and members to operate effectively for the council’s benefit;

·        making the policy physical and more accessible in a more digital era was welcomed; and

·        indemnity was valuable for those on sit on outside bodies where external indemnities may vary.

An opposition group leader sought clarification on the clause permitting the council to require security from an individual where it was reasonably anticipated that they would repay amounts paid by the council and what were the implications for councillors.

In response to questions and points raised by Members, the Head of Legal & Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer advised that the clause was discretionary and could apply where a criminal offence was suspected and the authority might reclaim costs. It was not a blanket provision and would be considered at the time of any application.

The Leader moved the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Wright, voted upon, and CARRIED unanimously.

RECOMMENDED that Council grant:

(1) the indemnity for Officers and Members and adopts the policy for inclusion in Part IV (Codes and Protocols) of the Council’s constitution;

(2) a standing delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the s151 Officer and the Leader of the Council to:

a)     determine whether to meet the cost of any officer or Member liability or loss from the Council’s own resources, where the Council’s own insurance policy does not cover such a liability or loss; and

b)     agree and implement any necessary amendments to the indemnity policy where such amendments are required to reflect changes in legislation, insurance arrangements or best practice, provided that any substantive policy changes are reported back to Council for approval.