Agenda and minutes

To sign the minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 27 April 2010 and the Annual Meeting held on 18 May 2010.

The minutes of the ordinary meeting of Council held on 27 April 2010 and the Annual Meeting held on 18 May 2010 were taken as read and signed as correct.

Update by the Chief Executive

The Chief Executive informed Council that specialist and definitive legal advice had now been received from a Queen’s Counsel which confirmed that the election of Councillor Tim Payne on 6 May 2010 was lawful as was his continuance as a member of the Council. Councillor Payne was deemed to have served continuously since that date and had a term of office lasting until May 2014. The membership of the Council therefore stood at 28, pending elections for the 12 wards affected by the High Court’s decision to quash the Structural Changes Order.

The Lord Mayor deplored the current situation which had led to 12 Councillors having to stand down as a result of the quashing of the Structural Changes Order and the resultant loss of democratic representation in the City. He hoped that the courts would address the situation expediently in order that an election could be called as soon as possible. He thanked all of the former Councillors for their hard work on behalf of the City.

In accordance with Standing Order 48, the Lord Mayor suspended the normal business of the Council and invited those former Councillors who were present at the meeting to address the Council.  Mrs Yolonda Henson, John Shepherd, Chris Gale and Paul Smith addressed the members of the Council and expressed their great regret that they had been obliged to vacate their offices in these circumstances and through no fault of their own. They recorded their appreciation to their former colleagues, both Councillors and officers, for their support, advice and assistance during their terms of office and expressed their optimism for the future of the City despite this temporary setback.

Petitions

Councillor Wadham presented a petition on behalf of 101 residents on the Loram Way estate, Alphington, requesting the Council to take over maintenance of the green areas on the estate and this was referred to Scrutiny Committee - Economy.

Councillor Newby presented a petition on behalf of 860 residents of Topsham objecting to a planning appeal decision against the Route2 Café’s two new painted signs and this was referred to Planning Committee.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of 26 April 2010 were presented by Councillor Prowse and taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 26 April 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of 24 May 2010 were presented by Councillor Prowse and taken as read.

Members declared the following personal interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 24 May 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of 28 June 2010 were presented by Councillor Prowse and taken as read.

Members declared the following personal (*prejudicial) interests and left the meeting where appropriate:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 28 June 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee of 8 June 2010 were presented by Councillor Mrs Danks and were taken as read.

An informal discussion had taken place following the Licensing Committee meeting regarding the requirement for hackney carriage proprietors to provide accessible vehicles for people with disabilities, with particular reference to swivel seats, and it was noted that the issue would be placed on the agenda for the next Committee.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 8 June 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Community of 1 June 2010 were presented by Councillor D Baldwin and were taken as read.

A Member declared the following personal interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Community held on 1 June 2010 be received.

The minutes of the Special Meeting of the Scrutiny Committee – Community of 7 June 2010 were presented by Councillor D Baldwin and were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Special Meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Community held on 7 June 2010 be received.

The minutes of the Special Meeting of the Scrutiny Committee – Community of 6 July 2010 were presented by Councillor D Baldwin and were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Special Meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Community held on 6 July 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Economy of 3 June 2010 were presented by Councillor Winterbottom and were taken as read.

Members declared the following personal interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee – Economy held on 3 June 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Resources of 16 June 2010 were presented by Councillor Coates and were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee – Resources held on 16 June 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Final Accounts Committee of 29 June 2010 were presented by Councillor Fullam and were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Final Accounts Committee held on 29 June 2010 be received.

Andrew Mimmack, Chair of the Standards Committee presented the minutes of 30 June 2010 as read.

He thanked the Council for having appointed him as Chair of the Standards Committee.  He paid tribute to Professor Brian Kirby thanking him for his very distinguished term of office of Chair and recording the Committee’s appreciation that he had agreed to remain as an independent member of the Committee.   He reported the grave concern of the Committee about the very unsatisfactory position whereby the terms of office of 12 Councillors had been abruptly terminated by reason of the quashing of the Structural Changes Order. He pledged the support of the Committee to newly-elected Councillors following the election.  

Whilst noting the expressed intention of the Government to review the role of Standards for England, he reported that there appeared to be no proposal to abolish the Code of Conduct. He emphasised the importance of Councillors abiding by the Code and paid tribute to Councillors for their commendable conduct and integrity which was reflected by the very small numbers of complaints received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 30 June 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Executive of 15 June 2010 were presented by Councillor Fullam and were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 15 June 2010 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Executive of 29 June 2010 were presented by Councillor Fullam and were taken as read.

A member declared the following personal (*prejudicial) interest:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 29 June 2010 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Implementation Executive of 4 May 2010 were presented by Councillor Fullam and were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Implementation Executive held on 4 May 2010 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Implementation Executive of 9 June 2010 were presented by Councillor D Baldwin and were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Implementation Executive held on 9 June 2010 be received.

To consider Committee Membership and related matters in the light of the outcome of the recent Judicial Review whereby the High Court has quashed the Order that created a unitary council for Exeter leading to the disqualification of 13 Members, pending further elections.

The Chief Executive reported that a specialist Queen’s Counsel had been appointed to represent the Council at the court hearing on Monday 19 July to seek an Order under Section 39 of the Representation of the People Act to enable a date to be fixed for the election to the vacancies in 12 wards. It was anticipated that the election would take place in early September.

In the interim period, the political Group Leaders had agreed to appoint to a revised Committee structure which reflected the reduced size and current political proportionality of the Council.   Nominations to the Committees, as proposed by the Group Leaders, were circulated. In the light of the confirmed status of Councillor Tim Payne, the Leader of the Council proposed that Councillor Payne fill the vacant Liberal Democrat Committee places indicated on the list.

RESOLVED that the circulated list of interim Committee membership be agreed, subject to the inclusion of Councillor Tim Payne as a member of Scrutiny Committee – Resources, Scrutiny Committee – Community, Scrutiny Committee – Economy, Employee Liaison Forum and Grants Committee, as identified in the Appendix.

Exeter City Council notes:

That the increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% announced in the Government’s June budget will fall hardest on those least able to afford it.

That the increase in VAT will lead to higher prices for goods and services; will have a disproportionate impact on pensioners and other low income groups; and will have a severe impact on businesses, charities and community groups in Exeter.

That the effect of the increase in VAT, when taken with other measures in the Budget, will be unfair to pensioners, who have not had a compensatory increase in other benefits and allowances.

That the way the VAT increase will affect pensioners and other low income groups runs counter to the Government’s Coalition Agreement statement on 20 May 2010 that it would “ensure that fairness is at the heart of those decisions so that all those most in need are protected”

That the Institute of Fiscal Studies has stated that the VAT increase was not “unavoidable”, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in his Budget speech.

and Council resolves:

To write directly to the Chancellor of the Exchequer raising concerns about the impact of the proposed VAT increase on pensioners, other vulnerable groups and businesses in Exeter.

To call on the Members of Parliament representing the City of Exeter to stand up for Exeter’s pensioners, businesses and wider community, to voice their opposition to this unfair increase in VAT and to vote against it in Parliament.

In accordance with Standing Order 6 Councillor D Baldwin, seconded by Councillor Sterry, moved a Notice of Motion in the following terms:

“Exeter City Council notes:

That the increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% announced in the Government’s June budget will fall hardest on those least able to afford it.

That the increase in VAT will lead to higher prices for goods and services; will have a disproportionate impact on pensioners and other low income groups; and will have a severe impact on businesses, charities and community groups in Exeter.

That the effect of the increase in VAT, when taken with other measures in the Budget, will be unfair to pensioners, who have not had a compensatory increase in other benefits and allowances.

That the way the VAT increase will affect pensioners and other low income groups runs counter to the Government’s Coalition Agreement statement on 20 May 2010 that it would “ensure that fairness is at the heart of those decisions so that all those most in need are protected”.

That the Institute of Fiscal Studies has stated that the VAT increase was not “unavoidable”, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in his Budget speech.

and Council resolves:

To write directly to the Chancellor of the Exchequer raising concerns about the impact of the proposed VAT increase on pensioners, other vulnerable groups and businesses in Exeter.

To call on the Members of Parliament representing the City of Exeter to stand up for Exeter’s pensioners, businesses and wider community, to voice their opposition to this unfair increase in VAT and to vote against it in Parliament.”

In presenting the Notice of Motion, Councillor D Baldwin stated that VAT was an unfair tax which caused disproportionate hardship to lower income families and older people. She considered that this proposal of the Coalition Government destroyed the credibility of those politicians who had formerly voted against a rise in VAT. In supporting the Motion, other Councillors drew attention to how the tax discriminated against particular sectors of society which did not necessarily enjoy choice as consumers, such as the unemployed and women.

Members referred to the impact of massive unpaid taxes that had been avoided or evaded as well as the money that had been deployed on funding wars. They commented on the ambiguous attitude of those politicians who had formerly opposed VAT and who were now advocating the VAT increase. They urged the Council to stand up for the local community and those vulnerable members of society whom they had been elected to represent.

Other Councillors emphasised the need for the current Government to tackle the economic legacy of the former Government, including the impact of high borrowing levels and the banking crisis. They referred to the benefits of the increased level of personal allowances and state pension. They reported that the increase would bring Britain into line with many other European countries and considered that the proposed rise in VAT was preferable to higher income tax or mortgage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.