Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Carter, Nick Churchill, Tony Hall, Eddie Johnson, Russell Perrin, John Strachan and Emma Toal.

Councillors’ declarations of interest (if any) in relation to any items on the agenda.

Councillor Mark Wilkinson declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 8b due to a relative that uses the centre.

Councillors Michael Garnett, Michael Hardware and Clive Souter declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 8a and 8b as Essex County Councillors.

Councillor Joel Charles declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 8b as he is Director of Future Care Capital Charity.

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2018.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2018 are agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair of the Council outlined various events she has attended and in particular drew attention to the Fireworks Night, Remembrance Festival, Sparkle the reindeer visiting Princess Alexandra Hospital, and the Sports Awards. The Chair also informed the chamber of the Duke of Kent’s visit to Astro Lighting where they were awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade in 2018 for the second time.

Harlow Educational Awards were a huge success. Michael Beard from Public Health England presented the awards and said how amazing the evening was and how he could see lots of the children and their parents obtaining employment within Public Health England.

The Chair spoke of the pantomime Aladdin at the Playhouse which was “the best she had ever seen in Harlow.” She advised that she had also attended the Makin Steps Show case and how amazing it was to see so many young talented children taking part.

She reminded her colleagues of the following dates: 30 January 2019 for Celebrate Harlow and 22 March 2019 for Harlow Civic Dinner and Dance.

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The questions together with the answers are appended to the minutes.

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Proposed by Councillor Shannon Jezzard (seconded by Councillor Mark Ingall):

“This Council is concerned by Essex County Council’s plans to close public libraries in Harlow. Libraries are vital to promoting literacy and fostering a love of reading amongst all people. They are used by pre-school children taking their first steps towards reading, those at the other end of the school journey and by young adults studying for their exams. Libraries also provide essential services for the least well off in society, providing computer access to people looking for jobs and accommodation, completing Universal Credit forms and for those filling out online school admission applications. This Council believes that library closures run counter to the County's health and wellbeing agenda and therefore requests that the Leader of the Council writes to the County Council urging it to keep all of Harlow’s libraries open.”

Proposed by Councillor Shannon Jezzard (seconded by Councillor Mark Ingall):

“This Council is concerned by Essex County Council’s plans to close public libraries in Harlow. Libraries are vital to promoting literacy and fostering a love of reading amongst all people. They are used by pre-school children taking their first steps towards reading, those at the other end of the school journey and by young adults studying for their exams. Libraries also provide essential

services for the least well off in society, providing computer access to people looking for jobs and accommodation, completing Universal Credit forms and for those filling out online school admission applications. This Council believes that library closures run counter to the County's health and wellbeing agenda and therefore requests that the Leader of the Council writes to the

County Council urging it to keep all of Harlow’s libraries open.”

Councillor Andrew Johnson, seconded by Councillor Joel Charles proposed the following amendment:

“This Council joins Robert Halfon MP in being concerned by Essex County Council’s consultation on plans to close public libraries in Harlow. Libraries are vital to promoting literacy and fostering a love of reading amongst all people.

They are used by pre-school children taking their first steps towards reading, those at the other end of the school journey and by young adults studying for their exams. Libraries also provide essential services for the least well off in society, providing computer access to people looking for jobs and accommodation, completing Universal Credit forms and for those filling out online school admission applications.

This Council believes that library closures run counter to the County's health and wellbeing agenda and therefore requests that the Leader of the Council writes to the County Council urging it to keep all of Harlow’s libraries open and offers Harlow Council’s support and advice to help achieve this by:

·         Investigate grouping all affected libraries together as part of a county- wide independent public service mutual, supported by an anchor revenue generator to ensure the sustainability of this type of model;

·         suggesting a cross-county solution for the Districts on the Hertfordshire border;

·         opening talks about the shared use of District Council facilities;

·         work to secure local assurances about maintaining ongoing access to the county-wide library management system; and

·         offering financial contributions, including support to deliver alternative revenue propositions and the potential for the co-location of services.”

The Amendment was debated and a vote was taken. The amendment was lost. Following this Councillor Stefan Mullard (seconded by Councillor Chris Vince) proposed the following amendment.

“This Council is concerned by Essex County Council’s plans to close public libraries in Harlow. Libraries are vital to promoting literacy and fostering a love of reading amongst all people. They are used by pre-school children taking their first steps towards reading, those at the other end of the school journey and by young adults studying for their exams. Libraries also provide essential

services for the least well off in society, providing computer access to people looking for jobs and accommodation, completing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61a

Proposed by Councillor Chris Vince (seconded by Councillor Jean Clark):

“This Council is dismayed by Essex County Council's plans to halve the number of beds in the Maples Respite care home in Little Parndon. Respite care is a vital resource for parents who have children with complex needs. Unlike alternatives, like child minding, centres like the Maples provide specialist support to children with a variety of needs and ensures they are provided with the stimulating environment that they need. This Council requests the Leader of the Council to write a letter to Essex County Council describing the benefits of this service and asking them to reconsider any proposed cuts.”

Councillor Shona Johnson was not in the room for the consideration of the motion.

Proposed by Councillor Chris Vince (seconded by Councillor Jean Clark):

“This Council is dismayed by Essex County Council's plans to halve the number of beds in the Maples Respite care home in Little Parndon. Respite care is a vital resource for parents who have children with complex needs. Unlike alternatives, like child minding, centres like the Maples provide specialist support to children with a

variety of needs and ensures they are provided with the stimulating environment that they need. This Council requests the Leader of the Council to write a letter to Essex County Council describing the benefits of this service and asking them to reconsider any proposed cuts.”

A vote on the motion was recorded. The details of the recorded vote are below.

The motion was carried.

Licensing Committee recommended to Full Council that:

A     The scheme of fees and charges with respect to The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (attached as Appendix A to the report) be adopted, with the fees and charges to be reviewed annually thereafter as part of the Council’s annual fees and charges setting round.

B    The arrangements for formal decision making (attached as Appendix B to the report) be approved.

C    The procedure for appeal against a risk rating score of an operator (attached as Appendix C to the report) be approved.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

            RESOLVED that:

A     The scheme of fees and charges with respect to The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (attached as Appendix A to the report) be      adopted, with the fees and charges to be reviewed annually thereafter as part of the Council’s annual fees and charges setting round.

B    The arrangements for formal decision making (attached as Appendix B to the report) be approved.

C    The procedure for appeal against a risk rating score of an operator (attached as Appendix C to the report) be approved.

Licensing Committee recommended to Full Council that:

A     The replacement Gambling Act Licensing Policy (attached as Appendix A to the report) be approved.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

            RESOLVED that:

A     The replacement Gambling Act Licensing Policy (attached as Appendix A to the report) be approved.

Cabinet recommended to Full Council that:

A     The Mid-Year Review of the Treasury Management Strategy, attached as Appendix A to the report, be noted.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

            RESOLVED that:

A     The Mid-Year Review of the Treasury Management Strategy, attached as Appendix A to the report, be noted.

Cabinet recommends to Full Council that:

A     The that the current scheme remains unchanged for 2019/20 and that the introduction of fixed period awards for Local Council Tax Support is not implemented at the current time and kept under review.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

            RESOLVED that:

A     The that the current scheme remains unchanged for 2019/20 and that the introduction of fixed period awards for Local Council Tax Support is not implemented at the current time and kept under review.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

RESOLVED that:

A       Simon Hill is appointed on a permanent basis as the Council’s Monitoring Officer under Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended) with effect from 2 January 2019.

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

RESOLVED that:

A     Councillors are appointed as members/substitute members of Council Committees, .Sub Committees and Panels as detailed in Agenda Item 10b

Proposed by Councillor Mark Ingall (seconded by Councillor Mark Wilkinson) it was:

RESOLVED that:

A     The Council representatives nominated for appointment to the outside bodies are agreed as detailed in Agenda Item 10c.

To note the following Cabinet and Committee minutes:

            RESOLVED that the minutes of the following meetings are noted.

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