Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

The following Members declared a personal interest on the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 (agenda item 11) due to closely associated people employed by the Council:

Councillors Chris Bithell, Hilary McGuill, Ian Smith, Carolyn Thomas,

Ted Palmer, Neville Phillips, Kevin Rush, Dave Hughes, Paul Shotton, Ian Dunbar, Ralph Small and Bernie Attridge.

The following Members declared a personal interest on the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 (agenda item 11) due to closely associated people employed by the Council:

Councillors Chris Bithell, Hilary McGuill, Ian Smith, Carolyn Thomas,

Ted Palmer, Neville Phillips, Kevin Rush, Dave Hughes, Paul Shotton, Ian Dunbar, Ralph Small and Bernie Attridge.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2022.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25^th January 2022 were submitted.

Councillor Ian Dunbar moved them as a correct record and was seconded by Councillor Chris Bithell.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record.

To receive the communications as circulated.

The Chair then sent his best wishes to the people of Ukraine and hoped a peaceful solution could be achieved. 

He also thanked his Councillor colleagues who would not be standing at the May Election for their service over the years on the Council.

The Chair confirmed that his communications had been emailed to all Members and provided a brief overview of the engagements he had carried out since the last meeting. 

The Chair then sent his best wishes to the people of Ukraine and hoped a peaceful solution could be achieved. 

He also thanked his Councillor colleagues who would not be standing at the May Election for their service over the years on the Council.

This is an opportunity for Members of Council to submit petitions on behalf of people in their ward. Once received, petitions are passed to the appropriate Chief Officer for action and response.

None were submitted. 

None were submitted. 

To gain agreement and commitment to the Climate Change Strategy.

(a)          That progress made in delivering carbon reduction measures to date is acknowledged;

(b)          That the Climate Change Strategy for 2022 – 2030 and its aims therein be endorsed;

(c)          That a briefing for new Members following the election be arranged to highlight the work undertaken to date and the commitments of the Council moving forward, and that the Climate Change Strategy forms part of the Member Induction Programme; and

(d)          That the Council’s website be updated to include the Climate Change Strategy.

The Chief Officer (Planning Environment & Economy) presented the report together with the Climate Change and Carbon Reduction Programme Manager

In presenting the Climate Change Strategy it was explained that the Welsh Government (WG) declared a climate emergency in 2019 and called for the Public Sector to become carbon neutral by 2030.   The Cabinet resolved in December 2019 to resource the appointment of the Programme Manager to develop the Climate Change Strategy which would set key aims and actions for creating a carbon neutral Council by 2030.

The presentation included detailed information on the following: -

• Context
• Achievements so far
• Development of the Strategy – baseline
• Impacts from the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Development of the Strategy – Engagement
• The Strategy set out to achieve net zero carbon by 2030
• Climate Change Strategy
• Action Plan to Net Zero Carbon- behaviour
• Timeline to 2030

The Chief Officer (Planning Economy and Environment) paid tribute to the Programme Manager who, having joined the Council in June 2021, had undertaken an enormous amount of work with the Member working group to enable the Strategy to be presented today.  The work already undertaken to reduce the Council’s carbon footprint over the last 8 years was included in the Strategy.

The Leader of the Council thanked the Programme Manager for her contribution so far to the Council’s Strategy and the Chief Officer (Planning Environment & Economy).  He also paid tribute to Councillor Carolyn Thomas who had been instrumental in developing much of the initiatives.  He thanked Flintshire residents whose small changes in behaviour such as using public transport and recycling as much as possible were making a difference.  Most residents had risen to the challenge, and he thanked them for their support.  Referring to the WG call for Public Sectors to become carbon neutral he explained that Cabinet had taken a variety of decisions to enable the Council to reach the 2030 deadline.  Children were very interested in carbon neutrality and carbon reduction issues, and he felt that following the commencement of the new Council, consideration should be given to creating a Children and Students Consultative Panel to discuss these issues.  He moved the recommendation.

Councillor Sean Bibby spoke as Chair of the Climate Change Programme Board and paid tribute to the work undertaken by the Programme Manager and Chief Officer to formulate the Strategy.  In seconding the recommendation, he thanked his fellow Members of the Climate Change Programme Board for their challenges and contributions.

In response to questions from Councillor Richard Jones on the cost implications, the Programme Manager confirmed it was difficult to provide financial information as the projects had to be scoped further.  Business cases would be developed for each of the areas where investment was required with a clear understanding of the financial implications involved.    The Chief Officer (Planning Environment & Economy) added that it was too early to predict at present but reassured Councillor Jones that the investment business cases would be presented to Council.   The costs of new technologies which were required to achieve carbon  ...  view the full minutes text for item 104.

To receive the Diversity in Democracy Action Plan.

That the Diversity in Democracy action plan be approved.

In presenting the report the Chief Officer (Governance) provided an overview of the work undertaken in 2017 by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to understand how elected councillors reflected the demography of the areas they represented.  This was adopted by County Council in July 2021.

The Chief Officer (Governance) reported on the workshops where this was debated, with Members supportive of the proposed action plan.  Good practice already existed within political groups and the national parties to promote and increase diversity.  The aim was to recognise that some sections of our population were under-represented on the Council and to look at the reasons for this and address any obstacles. This could result in a more diverse range of candidates on the ballot paper which provided greater choice for the electorate.

The action plan had been split into 11 work streams with each one aimed at increasing awareness of the role of becoming a councillor, the benefits and process of how to stand.  Assurance was also included that training and support would be provided once elected.  The Chief Officer (Governance) then referred to the profiling for International Women’s Day on the 8^th of March and provided information on the press release and profiles of female councillors to encourage more women to stand for election.

            Feedback from the workshops and the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee had resulted in several Members commenting that this would have been helpful when they stood for election.  An overview was provided of the actions undertaken and work required to produce that level of change with positive suggestions emerging from the workshops such as profiling councillors on international women’s day.  Another barrier was time off from work to attend meetings and discussions were being held with employers to address this and provide a better understanding of the role.   It was also suggested that the information pack provided to Members at the election count should be reduced with more information subsequently provided at the induction sessions

            The Chief Executive and Chief Officer (Governance) would shortly be holding online election awareness briefing sessions to answer questions, provide information and ensure the Diversity Action Plan succeeded.

            Councillor Tony Sharps felt it was up to the political parties to provide candidates for elections.

            Councillor Gladys Healey commented that if the support outlined in the report was provided it would be very beneficial to new Members and should be developed further.

The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Neville Phillips and seconded by Councillor Michelle Perfect.

RESOLVED:

That the Diversity in Democracy action plan be approved.

To raise awareness of the WLGA campaign to promote positive election campaigns based on the issues/facts.

(a)          That all Councillors intending to seek re-election make a Fair Campaigns Pledge, and

(b)          That the Returning Officer be requested to ask all candidates at the forthcoming elections to make a Fair Campaigns Pledge.

In presenting the report the Chief Officer (Governance) referenced the coarsening of political debate with the extreme cases resulting in fatal attacks on MPs, with physical abuse, abuse of property and social media abuse across all levels of government.   To address this worsening situation, the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) had been promoting the Fair Campaigns Pledge “that candidates will campaign on the basis of issues and policies rather than the personalities of their political opponents”.   Flintshire was asking its Members to make the Fair Campaign Pledge and if this was supported, the Chief Officer and Chief Executive would be asking new candidates to take that Fair Campaign Pledge.

In calling upon the support of all Members, as the Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Roberts moved the recommendations and encouraged all Group Leaders to pledge on behalf of their groups.  He confirmed that he was one of the original signatories when this was presented to the WLGA Executive with all Council Leaders in Wales signing the Pledge.  Whilst he did not have an issue with robust public debate about the issues, he said that this should not include personalities and abuse which demeaned the whole democratic process.  In referring to the impact of such abuse, he fully supported the campaign pledge on behalf of himself and the Labour party.

Councillor Mike Peers seconded the proposal.  Whilst Group Leaders had been asked to pledge for their group, he said it was for his individual group Members to commit to a fair campaign and vote how they wished and not for him to pledge on their behalf.  Referring to Section 1.03 of the report, he said serving Members seeking re-election remained bound by the statutory Code of Conduct which they signed when taking up office.  He agreed with the comments made by the Leader, and he had also witnessed serious incidents and he hoped this year would be different.   He said the Fair Campaigns Pledge acted as a reminder of how Members should conduct themselves during the election period and section 1.04 provided a link to information on the expected standards and that the Code of Conduct still applied.

Councillor Chris Dolphin supported the recommendations and acknowledged the positive aspects of social media as well as those that were not so positive.

Councillor Clive Carver pledged his own commitment albeit that he would not be standing for re-election. 

Councillor Tony Sharps agreed with the Leader’s comments and said that his group were unanimously supportive of the Pledge. 

            During the debate, Councillor Ian Roberts requested a recorded vote to which the requisite number of Members indicated their support.  On being put to the vote, the recommendations were carried unanimously. 

RESOLVED:

(a)          That all Councillors intending to seek re-election make a Fair Campaigns Pledge, and

(b)          That the Returning Officer be requested to ask all candidates at the forthcoming elections to make a Fair Campaigns Pledge.

To enable Council to consider and approve the Draft Petitions Scheme.

(a)       That the Council approves the petitions scheme for inclusion in the Constitution, subject to the following changes:

·         To insert the words ‘during the consultation period’ at the end of section 8(2) to encourage that practice and to note that petitions received after the planning consultation period will be reported in the late observations;

·         That the maximum period for collecting signatures be extended to 30 days and that decisions on the acceptance and disposal of petitions be made within 30 days of their submission;

·         That the scheme be adopted to meet the deadline and that it be subject to further review by the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee in the new Council term; and

(b)       That the Council adopts consistent criteria for petitions that are deemed acceptable.

The Chief Officer (Governance) presented a report for the Council to approve a draft scheme to fulfil its legal duty in enabling members of the public to submit online petitions.  Having been amended and endorsed by the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee, Members’ approval was sought for the scheme to be published on the Council’s website.  The report also set out proposed criteria for accepting petitions either submitted online or via local Members as part of the existing process.  The outcomes of all accepted petitions would continue to be reported to Council on an annual basis.

As Chair and Vice-Chair of the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee, Councillors Neville Phillips and Michelle Perfect moved and seconded the recommendation.

Councillor Mike Peers highlighted the importance of petitions on planning matters being submitted within the 21-day consultation period prior to the application being determined.  To clarify this, he proposed an amendment that the words ‘during the consultation period’ be inserted at the end of section 8(2).  The Chief Officer explained that the process would allow for petitions received and accepted after the consultation period to be reported as part of the ‘late observations’ considered at each Planning Committee meeting.  Whilst agreeing with this approach, Councillor Peers said that responses to planning applications should be encouraged within the statutory consultation period where possible.  This seconded by Councillor Richard Jones.

Councillor Hilary McGuill commented on the need to define the period by which petitions were collected, accepted, and responded to.  Following guidance by the Chief Officer, she proposed an amendment that the 21-day limit for collecting signatures be extended to 30 days and that a further 30-day deadline should apply to the petition being accepted and disposed of.  This was seconded by Councillor Marion Bateman.

In response to Members’ questions, it was clarified that the initiator of a petition (the promoter) must provide their name and Flintshire postcode.  On the format of petitions, the Chief Officer said that whilst a petition template could be made available online, this did not prevent individuals from creating their own.

In view of the proposed amendments, Councillor Derek Butler proposed that the scheme be referred back to the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee for further consideration and contributions.  This was seconded by Councillor Patrick Heesom.

The Chief Officer suggested that for the Council to meet legislative requirements within the deadline, the draft scheme be adopted incorporating the proposed amendments and that the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee review the document in the new Council term to establish if any further changes were required.

All three amendments were accepted by the mover and seconder of the recommendations, Councillors Neville Phillips and Michelle Perfect, and on being put the vote, were carried, and formed part of the substantive motion.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Council approves the petitions scheme for inclusion in the Constitution, subject to the following changes:

·         To insert the words ‘during the consultation period’ at the end of section 8(2) to encourage that practice and to note that petitions received after  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107.

To re-appoint a Lay Member to the Governance and Audit Committee and to update members on progress with appointing an additional lay person.

(a)          That Council notes the update on the current recruitment process; and

(b)          That Council reappoints the Lay Member for another 12 months

In presenting the report the Chief Officer (Governance) clarified that following the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 the Council was required to increase the number of lay members on its Governance and Audit Committee. This was to ensure lay members made up one third of the Committee.   An overview of the recruitment process and closing date for applications was provided. 

As the term of office of one of the existing lay members was due to expire in May 2022, it was proposed that their term be extended for a period of 12 months to allow for the current recruitment process and for the new Council to consider whether to re-appoint that person for a further term of office.

            The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Chris Dolphin and seconded by Councillor Patrick Heesom.

RESOLVED:

(a)          That Council notes the update on the current recruitment process; and

(b)          That Council reappoints the Lay Member for another 12 months

All local authorities are required to publish their Pay Policy Statement by April annually. The Pay Policy Statement presented within this report is the tenth annual Statement published by Flintshire County Council.

(a)          That County Council approves the appended draft Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23; and

(b)          That County Council delegates authority to the Corporate Manager, People and Organisational Development to update the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23 during the course of the year to reflect any changes required by legislation, Government policy or national negotiations so that it remains accurate and current.

In presenting the report, the Corporate Manager (People and Organisational Development) reported that this was the 10^th Annual Pay Policy Statement and reflected the current arrangements regarding pay.  Information was provided on the policies for 2021/22 in a number of key areas, which were similar to previous annual reports.  There were no changes to principles but in lieu of updated Welsh Government (WG) guidance and changes to legislation several sections had been added, updated, or removed and these were outlined.

            Councillor Clive Carver moved the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Geoff Collett.

RESOLVED:

(a)          That County Council approves the appended draft Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23; and

(b)          That County Council delegates authority to the Corporate Manager, People and Organisational Development to update the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23 during the course of the year to reflect any changes required by legislation, Government policy or national negotiations so that it remains accurate and current.

This item is to receive any Public Questions: none were received by the deadline.

None were received

None were received

To note the answers to any questions submitted in accordance with County Council Standing Order No. 9.4(A): none were received by the deadline.

None were received

None were received

This item is to receive any Notices of Motion: none were received by the deadline.

None were received

None were received

There were no members of the press or public in attendance.

There were no members of the press or public in attendance.

(The meeting started at 2.00 p. m. and ended at 16.54 p.m.)