Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Haynes, Leach, Reynolds and Yardley

Keith Ireland, Tim Johnson, James McElligott, Mark Taylor and Linda Sanders declared pecuniary interests in Agenda Item 5 Senior Pay Policy Statement 2014/15 and 2015/16. 

The following declarations were received in relation to Agenda Item 6 Wolverhampton Homes Annual Delivery Plan 2015-16

Resolved

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

[To receive the Mayor’s announcements]

1.         Germanwings Plane Crash

The Mayor asked Councillors to join him in expressing profound sadness at the loss of life suffered in the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps on 24 March. Martyn Matthews from Wolverhampton was among the victims. 

The meeting stood in silent tribute to the memory of Mr Matthew’s and all the other victims of the plane crash.

2.         Councillor Linda Leach

The Mayor reported that Councillor Linda Leach was recovering following surgery which had taken place earlier in the day. The mayor reported that he had sent Councillor Leach  a card and would arrange for flowers to be sent to she was back at home, with the good wishes of all members of the Council.

3          Retiring Members of the Council

The Mayor paid tribute to Councillor Sue Constable who was not seeking re-election at the local elections in May.  Councillor Sue Constable has been a member of the Council since 2004 representing the Bilston North Ward. She was a cabinet member during 2011/12 and 2012/13 for Children and Families and had served on a range of Committees.

The Deputy Mayor paid tribute to Councillor Mike Heap who was also not seeking re-election at the local elections in May. Councillor Mike Heap had been a member of the Council since 1999, representing the Spring Vale Ward. As well as being Mayor and Deputy Mayor he had served on, and Chaired a range of Committees.

4.         VE Day 2015

The central branch of the City of Wolverhampton Royal British Legion and the Ex-Service Council would hold a service of remembrance to mark the  70th anniversay of the end of the Second World War in Europe, at the Cenotaph, St Peter's Square, on 8 May starting at 11.30am.

Having declared an interest Keith Ireland, Tim Johnson, Jim McElligott, Kevin O’Keefe, Linda Sanders and Mark Taylor left the meeting and took no part in the consideration of this item.

It was moved by Cllr Sweet and seconded by Cllr Lawrence and

            Resolved

            That the Senior Pay Policy Statement for 2014/15 and 2015/16 be approved for immediate publication in line with the Localism Act 2011

It was moved by Cllr Bilson and seconded by Cllr Johnson and

            Resolved

            That the Wolverhampton Homes Annual Delivery Plan 2015-16 be approved.

It was moved by Cllr I Brookfield and seconded by Cllr Wynne and

            Resolved

            That the following amendments be made to the Constitution

1.      To make amendments to job titles and responsibilities to reflect the Council’s recent senior management restructuring, particularly:

a)     to remove references to the role of Chief Executive, replacing it with ‘Head of Paid Service’;

b)     to remove references to the role of Strategic Director – Education and Enterprise, replacing it with ‘Strategic Director for Place’;

c)     to remove references to the role of Strategic Director – Community, replacing it with ‘Strategic Director for People’;

d)     to remove references to the role of Assistant Director (Finance), replacing it with ‘Director of Finance;

e)     to remove references to the role of Chief Legal Officer, replacing it with ‘Director of Governance’; and

f)      to amend the section on management structure to reflect revised arrangements.

2.      To amend the budget and policy framework documents listed in the glossary.

3.      To remove the requirement for Standards Committee to consider proposed changes to the Constitution.

4.      To remove the requirement for the Monitoring Officer to make paper copies of the Constitution available, other than at the Civic Centre or in response to specific requests.

5.      To include a delegation to the Leader of the Council to approve permanent changes to the membership of Scrutiny Panels and other committees part way through a municipal year, subject to consultation with relevant group leaders.

6.      To include the following within the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Governance and Performance:

       To work with the Returning Officer/Electoral Registration Officer to oversee the Council’s Electoral Services functions, including electoral registration and co-ordination of elections.

7.      To delete from the Cabinet (Resources) Panel’s delegations, responsibility to agree bids for external funding.

8.      To include a delegation to the Head of Paid Service to appoint a Deputy Electoral Registration Officer.

9.      To include a delegation to the Strategic Director for People to accept guardianship applications under the Mental Health Act 1983.

10.   To amplify the delegation to the Strategic Director for Place in  respect of planning enforcement, including additional wording ‘including in relation to listed building and conservation areas, advertisement control including discontinuance notices, and serving Section 215 notices.

11.   To include within the delegations to the Strategic Director for Place, the power to enter into agreements under Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972.

12.   To include a summary of the indemnity provided to employees in the event of a claim being made against them arising from their work on behalf of the Council.

13.   To include a delegation to the Monitoring Officer to amend the Constitution to reflect changes in the Council’s senior management structure.

14.   To include the appointment of the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer as one of the functions reserved to the Council.

15.   To delete F14 (delegations to the Strategic Director for Place), which requires planning applications that need a Section 106 agreement to be reported to Planning Committee.

16.   To  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

It was moved by Cllr Dass and seconded by Cllr Bolshaw and

Resolved

That the Statement of Licensing Policy be approved for implementation with effect from 3 April 2015.

It was moved by Cllr Lawrence and seconded by Cllr Johnson and

Resolved

That Rachel Brothwood be appointed as Assistant Director – Actuarial and Pensions on the council’s senior management terms and conditions.

Cllr Thompson asked Cllr Bilson about the framework to improve the housing offer within the city.

Cllr Bilson replied that the framework would be used to ensure that a relevant structure was in place to address the housing challenge and to help build more housing in general. It would provide a mechanism to address issue of identifying sites for development need internally structure to be accountable in council to monitor progress against proposals. Cllr Bilson stated that Sir Michael Lyons had recently spoken in the City and had highlighted the challenge in the region to accelerate growth, the need for councils to take greater ownership of the process and to look at different ways of increasing the housing offer.

1.         Councillor Claymore to ask the leader of the Council:

“Leader, in your speech to full council on 17^th September you announced your intention to set up a Skills Commission to ensure that the city’s residents – especially its young people – can develop the skills to compete successfully for local job opportunities. Can you update Council on the progress to date of setting up the Skills Commission?”

2.         Councillor Potter to ask the Cabinet Member for Skills, Schools and Learning -

“Can the Cabinet Member for Skills, Schools and Learning update Council on the actions taken to support the children and staff of St Alban’s CofE Primary School following the devastating arson attack on the school earlier this month?”

3.         Councillor Claire Darke to ask the Cabinet Member for Health & Well-being:

“Can the Cabinet Member for Health & Well-being update the Council on the progress made to date towards the Council’s ‘Million Miles for Wolverhampton’ and ‘Shed a Million Pounds for Wolverhampton’ challenges and the recent visit to the Council by Duncan Selbie?

4.         Councillor John Rowley to ask the Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration & Prosperity :

“Can the Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration & Prosperity advise Council of the progress that has been made since this Labour administration took back control of the Council in 2010 on initiatives to regenerate Wolverhampton?”

5.         Councillor Paul Singh to ask the Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills & Learning:-

"Can the Cabinet Member advise Council, what proportion of secondary school pupils resident in Wolverhampton currently attend schools outside the city?"

1.  Question from Councillor Claymore

Councillor Claymore asked the following question:

“Leader, in your speech to full council on 17th September you announced your intention to set up a Skills Commission to ensure that the city’s residents – especially its young people – can develop the skills to compete successfully for local job opportunities. Can you update Council on the progress to date of setting up the Skills Commission?”

Councillor Lawrence replied that the Skills Commission had been established and was collecting evidence through a series of meetings. He outlined the membership of the Commission. An interim assessment had been presented to the City Board which highlighted the extent of the challenge faced by the City in terms of skills and employment and recognised work already being done to address the challenge that can be built upon.  The assessment had highlighted the need for a medium term plan to be developed to provide a 10-15 year plan of action to address deep-seated issues in the City. The Commission would now focus on more in depth work and  developing initial recommendations.

2. Question from Councillor Potter

Councillor Potter asked the following question

“Can the Cabinet Member for Skills, Schools and Learning update Council on the actions taken to support the children and staff of St Alban’s CofE Primary School following the devastating arson attack on the school earlier this month?”

Councillor Page replied that immediate support was provided to the Headteacher during the fire to implement contingency and recovery plans to ensure the amount of time children were out of school was minimised. The site was secured and alternative accommodation was identified to enable children to return to school the following Monday by using accommodation at  Coppice Performing Arts School, Berrybrook School and Ashmore Park Hub.

He thanked the staff at the school for their response to the fire and outlined the work that would need to be undertaken to repair the school

3. Question from Councillor Darke

Councillor Claire Darke asked the following question

“Can the Cabinet Member for Health & Well-being update the Council on the progress made to date towards the Council’s ‘Million Miles for Wolverhampton’ and ‘Shed a Million Pounds for Wolverhampton’ challenges and the recent visit to the Council by Duncan Selbie?

Councillor Samuels replied that the obesity summit on 10 November 2014 was the launch of two large scale Wolverhampton wide challenges “a million miles for Wolverhampton” and “ shed a million pounds for Wolverhampton” which were initiatives designed to help residents be more active and lose weight.  Details of the miles completed and weight lost were recorded on a web site and so far 25,193 miles had been completed and 2,272 pounds had been shed.  Councillor Samuels encouraged all councillors and employees to get involved.

Councillor Samuels reported on a visit by Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England who had described his visit as the most "motivating" of any he has made recently, as he discovered the steps partners in Wolverhampton  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.