Agenda and minutes

the Chairman to announce if any item not on the agenda should be considered on the basis that he considers it as a matter of urgency;

The Chairman informed that she had no items of urgent business for consideration at this meeting.

Members are invited to declare any personal; or disclosable pecuniary interests, including the nature and extent of such interests they may have in any items to be considered at this meeting;

Members were invited to declare any interests in the items of business to be considered during the course of the meeting but there were none made.

Consideration was given to a report that sought approval to a revised Commercial Investment Strategy to relax the current geographical investment restriction for Renewable Energy generation assets.

During discussion, particular reference was made to:-

(a)   an amendment to the draft Strategy was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:

Reference: Governance Arrangements Bullet Point 2 be amended to read:

·      When any decision to proceed with a development or acquisition is being considered, local Ward Members will be briefed at the earliest opportunity and be able to share their views with Executive Members and be consulted before the final decision is made;

In support of the amendment, the proposer and seconder reiterated the importance of local Ward Members being involved in the decision-making process from the earliest opportunity.  When put to the vote, the amendment was declared CARRIED;

(b)   solar arrays.  A Member asked that, when making investment decisions related to solar energy in accordance with the Strategy, consideration be given to whether solar arrays were positioned on elevated apparatus thereby ensuring that the land underneath them could still be used.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That the revised Commercial Investment Strategy be approved, subject to inclusion of the following amendment:

-        Reference: Governance Arrangements Bullet Point 2 being amended to read:

‘When any decision to proceed with a development or acquisition is being considered, local Ward Members will be briefed at the earliest opportunity and be able to share their views with Executive Members and be consulted before the final decision is made.’

Members were presented with a report that sought to approve a revised Senior Leadership Team structure, roles and salaries to come into effect from 1 September 2019.

In discussion, reference was made to some comments that had been expressed on social media and, for absolute clarity, the Leader confirmed that this proposal was in no means the first step to re-exploring the ‘One Council’ proposal with West Devon Borough Council.  In expanding upon the point, the Leader stated that she had absolutely no intention of revisiting the ‘One Council’ proposal during this Council administration.

It was then:

RESOLVED

1.     That, with effect from 1 September 2019, a new Senior Leadership Team structure be developed that has the capacity to meet the Councils’ needs and addresses four key requirements:

-        Customer facing;

-        Community facing;

-        Financial; and

-        Governance and Assurance;

To meet these requirements, the team will comprise of the Chief Executive and four Director roles:

-        Strategic Director of Customer Service and Delivery;

-        Strategic Director of Place and Enterprise;

-        Corporate Director of Governance and Assurance; and

-        Corporate Director of Strategic Finance (and Section 151 Officer);

That, for each of the four Director roles, the role profiles and salaries be approved as outlined in Appendix A of the presented agenda report;

2.     That the Chief Executive be requested to review and implement changes to the Extended Leadership Team and Pay Structure to take account of the new Senior Leadership Team structure, other recent changes in the organisation and Benchmarking data by the end of December 2019; and

3.     That it be noted that the combined restructures will achieve ongoing annual revenue savings estimated to be at least £120,000 per annum (£60,000 per annum for each Council).

Members considered a report that requested that the Council made appointments to two additional Outside Bodies: Hope Harbour and the Governance Board (South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation).

The Council proceeded to note that the Group Leaders and Independent Members had been invited to submit their nominations for these Outside Bodies and the following had been received:

-        Hope Harbour – one nomination (Cllr M Long) for one position; and

-        Governance Board (South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation) – three nominations (Cllrs S Jackson, J T Pennington and R Rowe) for one position.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That, for the remainder of the 2019/20 Municipal Year:

1.     the Council be represented by Cllr M Long on the Hope Harbour and Cllr R Rowe on the Governance Board (South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation) Outside Bodies;

2.     attendance at meetings of these Bodies be regarded as an ‘Approved Duty’ (for the purposes of Members’ Allowances); and

3.     these appointed Members provide regular feedback and consultation on issues affecting the Bodies concerned.

To receive and as may be necessary approve the minutes and recommendations of the under-mentioned Bodies

* Indicates minutes containing recommendations to Council

RESOLVED

That the minutes and recommendations of the undermentioned bodies be received and approved subject to any amendments listed below:-

(a)        Development Management Committee         22 May 2019

(b)        Executive        6 June 2019

E.06/19: Climate Change

In proposing the Executive recommendations, the Leader informed of her intention to add a further recommendation that read as follows:

‘That the Council establish a politically balanced Climate Change and Biodiversity Working Group that comprises of 6 Members, with the Group Leaders being given delegated authority to put forward their respective nominations after this meeting, with the Group being chaired by the lead Executive Member for Climate Change.’

Each of these recommendations were duly SECONDED by the Deputy Leader.

In the subsequent debate, the following amendment (indicated in red font) was PROPOSED and SECONDED:

‘1. That a Climate Change and Biodiversity Emergency be declared;

2. That an Action Plan be developed that outlines how the Council will address the Emergencies and meet or exceed the targets set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including an assessment of the viability of a 2030 target and respond to the concerns raised by the IPBES report on global species and habitat loss to be brought to Council for approval within 6 months;

3. That the Council commit to collaborating with Devon County Council, all the Devon District Councils, Plymouth City Council and other agencies to address the Emergencies;

4. That the Action Plan identify Key Performance Indicators measured against any relevant national standards;

5. That a politically balanced Climate Change and Biodiversity Working Group be established that comprises of 6 Members, with the Group Leaders being given delegated authority to put forward their respective nominations after this meeting, with the Group being chaired by the lead Executive Member for Climate Change; and

6. That the Working Group be instructed, at its first meeting, to consider the setting up of a Citizens’ Assembly and to submit a recommendation to the next Council meeting to be held on 26 September 2019 and that prior to that it be submitted to the September meetings of the Executive and Overview and Scrutiny Panel for comment.’

The proposer of this amendment spoke to each part in turn and advised that these had been presented following discussions with the Leader of Council. 

In discussion, the Leader confirmed that this was the case and, as the proposer of the original motion, she was therefore supportive of this amendment.  The Deputy Leader also confirmed his support for the amendment and it was therefore included as part of the substantive motion.

At this point, a further amendment was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:

‘1. That both a Climate Change and Ecological Emergency be declared;

2. That an Action Plan be developed that outlines how the Council will address the Emergencies and meet or exceed the targets set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including an assessment of the viability of a 2030 target and respond to the concerns raised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29/19