Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Claire Arnold, Wendy Bowkett, Stef Bristow, Billy Brookes, Danny Brookes, Graham Cullen, Richard Cunnington, Will Grover, David Hall, Ros Jackson, Stephen Lyons Steve McMillan , Carl Macey, Paul Rickett and Robert Watson.

At this point in the Meeting, Members were invited to declare any relevant interests.  None were received.

To confirm the Open and Exempt Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting held on 28 June 2023 and the Open and Exempt Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 19 July 2023.

The Open and Exempt Minutes of the Extraordinary Council Meeting held on 28th June 2023 and the Open and Exempt Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 19th July 2023 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

To confirm Actions following the Meeting held on 19 July 2023.

The Actions were noted as complete.  A response to Action Nos 39(b) and 39(c) is attached at Appendix A to the Minutes.

The Chairman had attended a number of civic engagements, including the RAF Coningsby Families’ Day, the English Bowling Federation’s Closing Ceremony of Championships in Skegness, the Mayor of Boston’s Annual Sunday Service, the completion of the Rockery Gardens Nature Regeneration Project in Skegness, the Chairman of South Holland District Council’s Civic Service and had met with the new Principal at Skegness Academy.

On his behalf, the Vice-Chairman Councillor Edward Mossop attended the Sibsey Lancaster Memorial Trust Annual Service of Remembrance 2023.

The Chairman thanked fellow Councillors who attended his Civic Service held on Sunday 1 October 2023 and for the generous donations to his nominated charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.

Three questions had been received as below, following which a written response had been provided to each in line with Council Procedure Rule 10.9.

A full copy of the questions is attached at Appendix 1 to these Minutes.

Report of the Chairman of Executive Board.

The Leader of the Council referred to an updated copy of his report.  A copy is attached at Appendix B to the Minutes.

Following which, questions were put forward.

A Member referred to the award of £60 million for three towns in the Partnership and highlighted that Skegness would be benefiting from £20m over the next 10 years, following which it was queried whether this would free up ELDC money for other areas.  In response, Councillor Leyland highlighted that he had outlined this in his supplementary report, which included the opportunity to restructure the Council’s Economic team to deal with the challenges the Council faced across the district and specifically dealing with its market towns. 

A Member added that she was heartened to see a focus on market towns and stressed the importance of working in tandem with partners and highlighted the Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) Louth town centre trial traffic scheme that had had a detrimental affect on shops in the town.  In response, Councillor Leyland agreed that there needed to be a partnership approach across the board and acknowledged that there was a lack of consultation on the LCC trial traffic scheme in Louth and that it had ended badly.  Moving on from that, the positive outcomes from the Towns Fund Board was highlighted, and the recent Food Festival in Louth that was likened to the Lincoln Christmas Market in terms of the crowds and atmosphere.  And importantly, the Portfolio Holder for Market Towns and Rural Economy had the ambition for positive outcomes for the Council’s market towns.

To consider a recommendation from Executive Board.

The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Ageing presented a report that enabled consideration of amending the Council’s Capital Programme, reflecting the funds required to deliver nine properties under the Local Authority Housing Programme, alongside a further investment of £1m to support delivery of temporary accommodation to meets the needs of residents.

The background to the report was highlighted to Members, as set out at Paragraphs 1 and 2, pages 50 to 53 of the Agenda refer.

It was noted that the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) Round 2 was a £250m national programme to support local authorities in providing accommodation to Afghan families, settled in the UK legally under various government schemes following the conflict that had occurred in the country.

The fund was designed to support primarily with providing accommodation for Afghan families.  The fund also allowed authorities to access funds to support provision of additional general temporary accommodation to meet local needs.  The authority had been invited by government to consider an offer of £936,000 to support in making available nine properties; eight homes for Afghan families, and one property for general temporary accommodation.

At a meeting of Executive Board on September 20th 2023, it formally agreed to take part in the Local Authority Housing Round 2 programme.  Participation in the Local Authority Housing Fund scheme required the Council’s Capital Programme to be amended to reflect the project, including local authority match funding, Minute No. 22 refers.

At the same meeting of Executive Board, a further recommendation was agreed to make available a further additional £1m to support investment in temporary accommodation to meet wider needs arising in the district and in light of the Executive Board decisions, this report recommended to Full Council that the necessary amendments to the Capital Programme be made to enable the total package of housing investment in its entirety to progress. 

Following which the recommendation was duly Proposed and Seconded.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward and during discussion the following queries and comments were made:

A Member queried whether the funding referred to was for new properties or refurbishment of existing properties.  The Portfolio Holder confirmed that the LAHF funding was for new properties.  The additional £1m funding was more flexible and the Council could decide in which way it used the money.  Further to a query whether more properties could become available by refurbishing, it was highlighted that this often presented obstacles and the process took longer.  It was confirmed that the properties funded by LAHF had to be in place by Spring 2024 which was part of the conditions of the grant.

A Member commented that members of the Afghan community liked to live closer together and queried whether the nine properties being built could be in close proximity to enable them to support each other.  It was highlighted that Afghans were keen to work and considered that they should not be housed in the countryside, but in a more urban location.  It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

To consider an amendment to the Council’s Capital Programme.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance presented a report to enable consideration of the current financial position for the Council at the end of the first quarter of 2023/24 forecasting to the year end.

During his introduction the Portfolio Holder for Finance highlighted that it was important to ensure the Council’s forecast financial position for 2023/24 was considered and related decisions approved and that Council was aware of the financial position of the General Fund to ensure that it could make informed decisions that were affordable and financially sustainable for the Council.

The report provided information on the forecast full year financial performance at 30 June 2023 and was detailed at Appendix A for the following areas:

• The General Fund Revenue Budget,
• The General Fund Reserves Position,
• The Capital Programme for 2023/24, and
• The Treasury Management Performance for the year.

Further detail was also provided on the General Fund Provisional Outcome, Savings Target, Internal Drainage Boards, Reserves, Capital – General Fund and Treasury Management, pages 60 to 61 of the Agenda refer.

Following which the recommendation was duly Proposed and Seconded.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward and during discussion the following queries and comments were made:

A Member referred to the legal cost provision at £50k for Kingfisher Caravan Park, Section 2.1, page 63 of the Agenda refers and queried whether this related to what was coming down the line by former users of the site.  In response, the Portfolio Holder for Finance confirmed that this was correct.

A Member queried what set ELDC apart from other councils financially, given the current financial turbulence.  In response, the Portfolio holder for Finance explained that the current inflationary situation was working in the Council’s favour, largely because of the amount of money in the account from the Towns Fund projects.  As there had been some delay in dispersing the funds the Council was able to invest this at quite significant interest rates and the budget for investment income had increased by £1.4m.  In addition, the business rates situation where the Council had required a significant hereditament was generating a significant amount of funding and an unexpected amount of income in the coming financial period of £10m.

A Member referred to Table 4, page 70 of the Agenda refers and asked for clarification whether the Council was spending £11m on Climate Change projects in the first quarter and what the projects related to.  In response, the Section 151 Officer advised Members that it included the Green Home Grants in the Capital Programme and in May 2023 the Council approved a further £5.6m, including HUG2 grants and LAD1 grants, however advised that some of the funds had not yet been fully dispersed as the Council was awaiting guidance from government.

In conclusion, the Leader of the Council stated that the Council was in a good position financially and this was as a result of good management of the funding received.  Challenges had been dealt with along the way and it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

To receive a report on the Partnership's performance.

The Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Corporate Affairs presented a report that set out the progress of the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership since the last update on 1^st March 2023.

The background to the report was highlighted to Members, as set out at Paragraph 1, page 86 of the Agenda refers and particular reference was made to the following:

·       Progress of the Annual Delivery Plan 2023/24 (Section 2)

·       The Peer Review Action Plan and Business Case delivery progress (Section 3)

·       The updates from the Priority Partnerships (Section 4)

·       The Partnership Scrutiny Action Plan delivery progress (Section 5)

·       Following which the recommendations were duly Proposed and Seconded.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.  None were received.

RESOLVED

That the following areas of the report be noted.

1.    Progress of the Annual Delivery Plan 2023/24 (Section 2)

2.    The Peer Review Action Plan and Business Case delivery progress (Section 3)

3.    The updates from the Priority Partnerships (Section 4)

4.    The Partnership Scrutiny Action Plan delivery progress (Section 5)

To consider a recommendation from Executive Board.

The Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy presented a report that sought approval to amend the Council’s Capital Programme Budget for the Skegness Foreshore project to assist with taking the project forward.

The background to the report was highlighted to Members, as set out at Paragraph 1, page 100 of the Agenda refers.

Members were requested to consider approving the recommendation to enable officers to progress discussions and negotiations with an agreed shortlist of preferred development schemes following the marketing of four lots on the Skegness Foreshore via an open commercial marketing process, and for officers to continue to work with those shortlisted bidders to better understand the basis and opportunity for enabling and bringing forward the future on-site investment.

Following which the recommendation was duly Proposed and Seconded.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

A Member queried whether there was a specific project for which the movement of funding was required.  In response, the Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy explained that there were a number of projects that the officers wished to work with in the coming months which may necessitate a need to spend that money earlier on delivering those projects.

RESOLVED

That the bringing forward of the existing Capital Programme budget in respect of the Skegness Foreshore Towns Fund project from 2024/25 to 2023/24 be approved.

To receive Motions on Notice under Council Procedure Rule 12.

Preparation for political parties manifestos for the coming election

Following advice at the recent Rural Services Network annual conference, we propose that our Leader should write to all national political parties as they prepare their manifestos for the coming election, to ensure they acknowledge one size does not fit all and that in future rural areas should receive fair funding to enable us to effectively deliver both services and healthcare provision.

Proposer: Cllr Jill Makinson-Sanders

Seconder: Cllr Edward Mossop

The following Motion was received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12:

Preparation for political parties’ manifestos for the coming election

Following advice at the recent Rural Services Network annual conference, we propose that our Leader should write to all national political parties as they prepare their manifestos for the coming election, to ensure they acknowledge one size does not fit all and that in future rural areas should receive fair funding to enable us to effectively deliver both services and healthcare provision.

Proposer: Cllr Jill Makinson-Sanders

Seconder: Cllr Edward Mossop

In her introduction, Councillor Makinson-Sanders explained that she recently attended the Rural Services Network Annual Conference whereby it was suggested that all rural councils should contact the major parties as they drew up their manifestos for the forthcoming election, pointing out how much more it cost providing services in rural areas and consequently how disadvantaged the rate payers were as a result of this and asked Members to support the Motion.

In addition, Councillor Makinson-Sanders asked that the Council also wrote to the Times newspaper for more publicity for rural areas and fairer funding.

In support of the Motion, Councillor Mossop stated that the Council should be appraising all prospective parliamentary candidates in the run up to a potential election in 2024 where some of the new candidates may not be aware of the rurality in East Lindsey as the current MPs were.

Councillor Graham Marsh stated that he had great pleasure in supporting the Motion as for long as he could remember Lincolnshire had been under funded and as a community hoped that the Council’s voice would be heard.

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board stated that he was very happy to support the Motion.  He had recently attended a Local Government Association seminar on the Rural Services Network which was an excellent organisation who had explored the issues and understood that the challenges faced by rural communities were multi layered and stated that he was happy to write to the MPs to make the point.

Following which on being put to the vote it was,

RESOLVED

That the Motion be supported.

To review the Open and Exempt Minutes of Audit and Governance Committee as follows:

·       Meeting held on 5 July 2023 (Approved)

·       Meeting held on 27 September 2023 (Draft)

The Vice-Chairman of Audit and Governance Committee presented the following Open and Exempt Minutes from the Audit and Governance Committee Meetings as follows:

·       Meeting held on 5 July 2023 (Approved)

·       Meeting held on 27 September 2023 (Draft)

No comments were received.

RESOLVED

That the Approved Open and Exempt Minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 5^th July 2023 and the Draft Open and Exempt Minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 27 September 2023 be noted.

To consider excluding the public and press for the following items and if appropriate the Chairman to move:-

That under Section 100(a)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the Meeting for the following item on the grounds that, if they were present, there could be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) 1, 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended).

RESOLVED:

That under Section 100(a)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the Meeting for the following item on the grounds that, if they were present, there could be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) 1, 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended).

To consider a remuneration review report.

An exempt report was presented.

RESOLVED

That Recommendations Nos i, ii, iii and iv as set out in the Exempt Minute be agreed.

The programmed date for the next Meeting of the Council will be 13 December 2023 at 2.00pm.

The programmed date for the next Meeting of the Council was noted as Wednesday 13 December 2023 commencing at 2.00pm.