Agenda and draft minutes

Canon Woodcock opened the meeting with prayers.

Apologies for absence from the meeting were received on behalf of Councillors S Cowman, G Hibbert, J Hill, and J Rogerson.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests.

There was no public participation.

The Mayor reported on a wide range of events that he had attended since the last meeting. He noted his privilege at hosting the Clitheroe Castle candlelit vigil which marked of the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine. He also highlighted a recent meeting with Clitheroe U3A, and his close involvement with the Friends of Calderstones Cemetery. The Mayor was also looking forward to hosting students later in March in regard to the planning of a Climate Change Summit, which would take place in June.

Report of the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive enclosed.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive which informed the Members of the meeting with national non-domestic rate (NNDR) representatives about the Council’s 2024/25 budget proposals. This year’s meeting was held on 26 February 2024 and was attended by both Whalley and Clitheroe Chamber of Trade representatives.

Report of the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive enclosed.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report setting the budget for 2024/25 and to set the different amounts of council tax for different parts of the area where special items applied (Parish precepts).

The report set out the budget summary of the financial year 2024/25 which contained details of revenue and capital requirements.

The Leader presented his budget speech outlining the key economic issues that had been taken into account in setting the budget. He was pleased that, in contrast to some Authorities, Ribble Valley Borough Council had; no debt, the lowest District Council Tax in Lancashire, the 28^th lowest Council Tax in England, and a healthy £17 million in reserves and balances. He reported that in the financial years to come, based on assumptions made on core funding from the government, the Council faced a budget deficit, and the Council would address a savings plan as recommended by the external auditors. He noted that the budget which was presented also kept the museum open under its existing opening times, invested a further £500k into the Castle bringing the total to nearly £1m, and included a five-year £13m capital programme which featured improvements to play areas, public toilets, car parks, and solar panels, adding that the Council remained the only authority to collect refuse weekly and not charge for green waste. He noted the robust processes in place in preparing the budget, beginning with the Budget Working Group. He reported that due to savings on the 2023/24 budget a further £1m would be set aside to fund one-off projects, named the Ribble Valley Golden Jubilee Fund. He welcomed proposals for the fund which would be considered using the same robust processes. The Leader expressed gratitude to all service Committees, the Council’s staff, Members of the Council, and the Borough’s residents.

Approval of the budget proposals contained in the report was proposed by Councillor S Atkinson and seconded by Councillor S Hore. Members debated the proposed budget.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor L Jameson, proposed an amendment to the budget from the Labour Group and Green and Progressive Liberal Group which included the following amendments to the revenue budget 2024/25:

·         Freezing of all disabled and concession fees and charges at 2023-24 rates for 2024-25 funded by recovering the budget shortfall spread evenly across all non-disabled and non-concession fees and charges

·         Increase the Council’s Partnership Officer post from part time to full time (or job share) for 3-year fixed term contract

·         Creation of a new Carbon Reduction and Biodiversity Officer post for 3-year fixed term contract

·         Provision of carbon literacy training and certification for Members, Heads of Service and Officers to equip them to move RVBC to net zero by 2030

He also proposed the following amendments to the capital budget 2024/25:

·         Retention of the Salvation Army building in RVBC ownership and conversion of the building using an energy efficient retrofit into single person's accommodation including filming of the work to promote awareness of how older  ...  view the full minutes text for item 727.

Report of the Chief Executive enclosed.

The Chief Executive submitted a report revising the Council’s current Committee arrangements following a review of the political balance calculation. The proposed changes were listed in the report and the proposed revised Committee Membership was circulated to Members in advance of the meeting.

Members expressed their gratitude for their fellow group members and Officers, for their support in the municipal year to date. Members also thanked Councillor Fletcher for his work as the outgoing Leader of the Opposition.

RESOLVED: That the Council approve the changes to the membership of Committees with the Committee Membership now as follows:

COMMUNITY SERVICES (15)

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT (15)

HEALTH AND HOUSING (15)

PERSONNEL (9)

LICENSING (15)

POLICY AND FINANCE (15)

ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT (11)

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (15)

PARISH COUNCIL LIAISON (13) CHAIR  ...  view the full minutes text for item 728.

The Leader began by expressing his thanks to the Mayor on behalf of all Members for his hospitality at Christmas Council, and noted the moving performance in the Council Chamber by the Choir.

The Leader reported his attendance at the House of Lords on the 9 January 2024 by invitation of Lord Alton. He met with the Minister of State for Rail, alongside MPs Nigel Evans and Andrew Stephenson, to press for the introduction of regular weekday passenger services to and from Hellifield, which would allow Ribble Valley residents to travel to Skipton, Leeds, and Carlisle, with only one change, furthering opportunities for education, employment, and leisure. He was pleased to report that the Dalesman Service would resume in July, August, and September, adding that Lancashire would also benefit from a seven-fold increase in funding of £494 Million for local transport connections. All of the schemes would need to be signed off by Local MPs and he had requested a meeting with Nigel Evans MP and the Leader of Lancashire County Council with a view to pushing for:

·         The Hellifield Connection

·         Increased the services between Clitheroe and Manchester Victoria, to every 30 minutes

·         More rural buses at times that people need them, and

·         Improved School bus routes to cater for all of the Schools in the Borough

The Leader went onto inform the Mayor that the Council were making changes to the Council Housing Allocation to prioritise homeless families with a local connection, and also offering first-time buyer grant offers of up to £15,000 towards property renovation and energy efficiency improvements. He reported that 149 Affordable Houses had been completed in the year to July 2023 and that a report would be brought to the next Health and Housing Committee to consider what actions could be taken to bring empty properties back into use. He noted that an empty property for Council tax purposes included those empty due to ongoing renovation works, where sales were completing, where the resident had moved to a nursing home, or the property was going through probate. He had requested further work to determine the number of long-term empty homes.

The Leader also reported that car parking at Edisford had been improved by designating the car park as long stay, and the £80,000 UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Grant for the spinning room at Roefield would contribute to improving the sustainability of the Leisure Centre. He added that the SPF had also seen investments in;

·         Castle Street, working in connection with Lancashire County Council to commence work in the Spring

·         Whalley Education Foundation, had been awarded £100,000

·         Barrow Village Hall and Community Centre, had been awarded a total of £225,000, and

·         The Pump Track in Longridge, which was being procured

The Leader reported that the Changing Places Fund would see the provision of specialist toilets to help disabled visitors in the Castle grounds and Edisford Bridge. He added that the River Ribble at Edisford Bridge may also be designated as a bathing water site, noting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 729.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Lee Jamson stated that democracy and governance was at its best when a wide range of views were expressed and represented from a diverse cohort of the public. He noted that working groups played a key role in the sharing of ideas to make Ribble Valley a better place, in what was hopefully an apolitical forum. He asked that, given that the majority of working groups were during the day when a large amount of members on the Council were working, and that according to the LGA over 48% of Councillors nationally were in work or full-time education, if the leader could advise if any steps would be taken to move working group meetings from daytimes to evenings to ensure that members were not taking too much time off work and the role of a Councillor remained accessible to the majority of people? (Source - Councillors' Census 2022 (local.gov.uk))

The Leader thanked Councillor Jameson for his question noting that he understood the difficulty in arranging working groups especially for Councillors that were working, but that it was a matter of striking the right balance between the needs of Councillors and staff. He added that service Committees and Council met in the evening and often staff attending those meetings were working at least a 12-hour day, and that each cycle there were 9 Committee meetings and Council, with the same Officers at many of those Committees. He added that currently there were 11 Working Groups established by Committees, which tended to meet more often than Committees, and again, many of the Working Groups were attended by the same Officers that attended Committee meetings. He felt that having working groups meet in the evening would place an intolerable burden on staff and not one that they could support.

In a supplementary question, Councillor Jameson noted that he fully appreciated Officers worked long hours but that as Councillors ran the Council, could the Council look into a more practical flexible working scheme for Officers.

The Leader responded that this could be explored, however, that efforts were made to hold working groups at the start and end of the day to cater for everyone, and he was concerned about staff working conditions, particularly for senior members of staff who could not recover the hours.

Next, Councillor Jameson asked if the Leader could confirm, and guarantee, the dates that the remedial works on the Castle keep and proposed improvements to Castle Street (which had already been paid for) would be completed?

The Leader responded that Lancashire County Council had recently undertaken the necessary surveys on Castle Street to inform the designs. LCC had confirmed that they were now in a position to progress the scheme layout. This would be shared with RVBC Officers shortly. Whilst works were due to start in Spring, LCC had been made aware of the date of the food festival and had confirmed that no works would take place over that period. They  ...  view the full minutes text for item 730.

To receive and consider, where appropriate, the minutes of the committees since the last meeting (items marked *** are referred to Council for decision).

1.    Community Committee – 9 January 2024

2.    Planning and Development Committee – 11 January 2024

3.    Personnel Committee – 17 January 2024

4.    Health and Housing Committee – 18 January 2024

5.    Policy and Finance Committee – 23 January 2024

6.    Economic Development Committee – 25 January 2024

7.    Licensing Committee – 30 January 2024

8.    Parish Councils Liaison Committee – 1 February 2024

9.    Planning and Development Committee – 8 February 2024

10.  Special Policy and Finance Committee – 13 February 2024

11.  Accounts and Audit Committee – 14 February 2024

12.  Licensing Sub-Committee – 23 February 2024

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the above committees be received with the exception of Minute numbers 573, 616, and 698.

Minute 573 - Pay Policy Update (Statement) 2024/25

RESOLVED:

That the Council approve the Pay Policy Statement for 2024/25 with an additional paragraph to reflect the Council’s decision at its meeting of 10 October 2023.The additional paragraph being:

“With effect from 1 April 2024, that the Council has adopted the Living Wage Foundation’s Real Living Wage as the minimum hourly rate of pay to be paid to all staff aged 18 and over (excluding apprentices).”

Minute 616 - Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2024/25

RESOLVED:

That the Council approve the Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2024/25

Minute 698 - Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places.

RESOLVED:

That the Council:

1.    Approve the proposals for polling districts and places in the Ribble Valley Parliamentary constituency.

2.    Approve an amendment of the Officer delegation scheme.

There were no items under this heading.