Agenda and minutes

Prior to the commencement of formal business, Elected Members, Officers and members of the public, observed a minute’s silence as a mark of respect and remembrance in relation to the recent deaths of former Councillors Colin Wedd who passed away on 27th December, 2019, Dorothy Chamberlain who passed away on 30th December, 2019 and Liz Jeffries who passed away on 7th January, 2020.  Details of the funeral arrangements were noted by Members.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Council Meeting, held on Thursday, 21st November, 2019, a copy of which had been circulated to all Members, be approved as a correct record, and signed by the Chair.

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, made the following announcements:-

“My first is a statement in respect of the results of the December General Election.

Firstly on behalf of Doncaster Council, I would like to thank Caroline Flint for her 22 years of dedicated service as MP for Don Valley.

I would like to welcome Don Valley’s new MP, Mr. Nick Fletcher, whom we invite to meet with myself, the Chief Executive and our re-elected MPs, to continue to pursue the interests of our residents and to assist in reducing the North South divide.

The Prime Minister and his Government have promised to re-balance the current gross inequalities in regards to regional spending.  Doncaster is ready and willing to receive this investment, to deliver opportunities and prosperity for all of our residents across the whole of our Borough.

My next announcement is in respect of Devolution.  In 2017, Doncaster residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of a wider Yorkshire devolution deal.

Pursuing a Yorkshire wide deal is still very much our intention and we welcome the agreement from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to work with us to progress our ambition for a Yorkshire wide devolution deal, whilst still allowing the South Yorkshire deal to progress, unlocking a significant opportunity and investment for Doncaster and South Yorkshire.

At the Yorkshire Leaders meeting on Friday, 10th January, Leaders were unanimous in reiterating our desire to secure a Yorkshire wide devolution deal.

Leaders also recognised that a stepped approach may be required to achieve this through the establishment of a Yorkshire Committee, as proposed by the Prime Minister, to provide strategic co-ordination across the region, supported by a number of interim funding arrangements at a sub-regional level.

The achievement of such a framework would be a major step towards achieving a full Yorkshire wide devolution deal.

Following that meeting, discussions have taken place between South Yorkshire and the Government, and agreement has been reached that the Government will continue work with Yorkshire Councils to establish a Yorkshire Committee on the basis that the South Yorkshire devolution deal is brought to a positive conclusion, with Barnsley and Doncaster having the opportunity to join any full Yorkshire devolution at a future date.

Following discussions with other South Yorkshire Leaders, South Yorkshire Councils will now consult on the proposed South Yorkshire deal.  This deal is exactly the same financial deal as originally proposed, but this will now be shared between the four South Yorkshire Councils instead of the nine that were originally envisaged.

This is the compromise that I and Barnsley Council Leader, Steve Houghton, have been campaigning for.  Government is now allowing us to continue to progress with our One Yorkshire devolution ambitions whilst also accessing the funds, resources and powers that were originally promised, through the Sheffield City Region deal.”

The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, made the following announcement:-

“Following the announcement on the 13th January, from the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

(a)   Question from Mr. Chris Nowak to Councillor Chris McGuinness, Cabinet Member for Communities, Voluntary Sector and the Environment:-

“Why is the Council allowing fly tipping of household waste/items to happen on a regular basis in the alleyways behind/between houses in Hyde Park, Balby, Hexthorpe and other areas?  This is not the first time this has happened in these areas and I know it will not be the last because the Council’s response is ineffectual and the people doing this are aware of this.  When are Doncaster Council going to get tough with this and use the powers at their disposal to end this health hazard?”

(A)      Question from Mr. C. J. Nowak to Councillor Chris McGuinness, Cabinet Member for Communities, Voluntary Sector and the Environment:-

“Why is the Council allowing fly tipping of household waste/items to happen on a regular basis in the alleyways behind/between houses in Hyde Park, Balby, Hexthorpe and other areas?  This is not the first time this has happened in these areas and I know it will not be the last because the Council’s response is ineffectual and the people doing this are aware of this.  When are Doncaster Council going to get tough with this and use the powers at their disposal to end this health hazard?”

In the absence of Councillor Chris McGuinness, Councillor Joe Blackham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Street Scene and Trading Services, gave the following response:-

“Doncaster Council does not and has never allowed fly tipping of any sort.  Fly tipping is a blight, not only on the countryside of Doncaster, but also on our urban streets.

The Enforcement Team utilise all environmental enforcement tools available to tackle littering and fly tipping, including the more recently introduced Fixed Penalty Notices for fly tipping and Duty of Care offences.  Within this, the Council utilise the maximum penalty for fly-tipping offences of £400.  Between April and December 2019, over 3,200 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued by this Authority.

It is the responsibility of all Doncaster residents to combat fly tipping, by ensuring we get rid of waste through the appropriate channels and there is no excuse for fly tipping.  We will investigate every instance of fly tipping and we will follow through to prosecution where we can.

We have recently invested in specific cameras in and around the Borough, as part of our tactics to investigate fly tipping offences. Cameras have been deployed in various areas of the Borough and will continue to be utilised.

We are committed to tackling this matter in the Borough and we will communicate our successful convictions to also act as a deterrent.  I ask that Councillors and residents alike, report fly tipping as and when they see it.

It needs to be noted that over 900 hours of additional work was recently carried out by the Enforcement Team supporting our flooded communities, during which time, their standard work was not completed as it would normally be.  Also, due to the flooding, only 50% of planned Street Cleansing was completed during November and December.  I ask that communities bear with us as we catch up with both our pro-active and re-active street cleansing programmes.

As part of the Council’s budget for the financial year 2020/21, we will be allocating further financial resources to Street Scene in order to tackle our Cleaner, Greener, Safer, Stronger Agenda.”

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.10, Mr. Nowak asked Councillor Joe Blackham, the following supplementary question:-

“Thank you for the reply you have just given to my question.  There are a couple of points that I would like to highlight.  The first one  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

The Council considered a report on the Annual Pay Policy Statement for 2020/21, which was presented by Councillor Jane Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Customer and Corporate Services, which set out the Council’s policy for paying staff, in particular its senior staff, namely Chief Officers, and detailed the relationship between the highest, lowest and average paid employees in the organisation.

It was noted that the Policy Statement was a public document, which was published on the Council’s website each year, and clearly demonstrated a willingness to increase accountability, transparency and fairness in setting pay.  It also included information about where more detailed salary information was published, as part of the Council’s Annual Statement of Accounts.

Councillor Nightingale highlighted that there had been minimal changes to the pay ratios this year, with the salary levels remaining at the 2019 rates, although she pointed out that this was largely because the pay award negotiations for 2020/21, had not been concluded.

The current ratio between the highest and lowest paid employee salary remained at 9.46:1 this year, meaning that the highest salary, the Chief Executive, was 9.46 times more than the lowest salary.  The ratio between the highest employee salary and average employee salary had positively reduced from 6.30:1 to 6.20.1.  These ratios reflected the Council’s ongoing commitment to reduce the pay difference.

In March 2011, the Hutton Review of Fair Pay made several recommendations for promoting pay fairness in the Public Sector by tackling disparity between the lowest and highest paid.  The Hutton Review considered that the ratios should be no greater than 20:1 and the Council fell well below this threshold.

It was anticipated that the Pay Policy may need amending during the period 1st April, 2020 to 31st March, 2021 should a national pay award be agreed.  Any amendments would be included in the following year’s statement presented to Full Council.

Following the presentation of the report, Members of the Council were afforded the opportunity to comment on the report.

RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement for 2020/21 be approved.

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC), Councillor Jane Kidd, presented a report which provided a summary of the key work undertaken by the OSMC and its four Standing Panels, covering the period of May to December 2019, and identified future work plan issues.

In introducing the report, Councillor Kidd conveyed her thanks to all Members, the Executive and Officers, who had contributed to the Overview and Scrutiny process, and partners, stakeholders and the public, who had taken the time to attend meetings and engage in the Overview and Scrutiny process.

It was noted that the work of Overview and Scrutiny contributed to the main Doncaster Growing Together Themes of Working, Living, Caring, Learning and Connected Council.  The OSMC scrutinises the quarterly performance and finance report and at each session identifies a particular service to focus on, such as the Doncaster Children’s Services Trust, St. Leger Homes of Doncaster or Adult Social Care.  As a way of holding the Executive to account, the relevant Cabinet Members were invited to Overview and Scrutiny meetings to respond to questions, and also provided an opportunity for Members to better understand the key challenges faced in the Council delivering services.

Councillor Kidd spoke of how Scrutiny had received information from a number of partners including NHS organisations, Doncaster Children’s Services Trust, St Leger Homes, Doncaster Culture and Leisure Trust and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. To understand issues from a service user’s perspective, Overview and Scrutiny had also engaged with individuals in order to learn about the experiences of those with autism and learning disabilities, and regularly invited young advisers to its Children and Young People’s Scrutiny meetings to contribute to its debate and discussion.

Councillor Kidd highlighted that one of the most significant pieces of work undertaken had been the OSMC’s review to consider how Members could help to support volunteers and community groups, to help the Council achieve local priorities. It was proposed that Members would have a small locally devolved budget to assist and support these activities in the form of small grants. As well as undertaking a site visit to Barnsley Council and a conference call to Nottingham Council to learn from best practice, the OSMC held a number of workshops and invited all Members to attend and give their views on how the new arrangements could work in practice.  The Committee would be agreeing its recommendations at its meeting on 6thFebruary.

Looking forward to 2020, Councillor Kidd concluded by informing Members that the major issues Overview and Scrutiny needed to focus on were:-

•     The Mayor’s Budget Proposals 2020/21 - 2022/23

•     Climate Change Agenda and Strategy

•     Homelessness and the Rough Sleeping Strategy

•     Living Well and Ageing Well Themes

•     The Youth Council - Priorities

•     Reviewing strategies for reducing Crime and Disorder

•     The Council and partners response to the flooding

•     Exclusion rates from Academies 

Following the presentation of the report, Members of the Council were afforded the opportunity to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

The Council considered a report which outlined the draft diary of meetings for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Municipal Years.

Members were informed that in approving an advanced calendar of meetings that encompassed two Municipal Years, it provided Members and Officers with advanced notification of meetings, training or seminars and other key dates, which was particularly helpful for those who needed to organise their time due to other commitments.

It was reported that whilst the proposed calendar covered a two-year period, there would be the opportunity to review the meeting dates for 2021/22 when the 2021/22 to 2022/23 Diary of Meetings was considered by Full Council in May, 2021.

Members noted that the final version of the diary would be agreed at the Annual Meeting of Council in May, 2020 and any amendments between consideration of the draft diary and this meeting would be incorporated.

RESOLVED that

(1)      the proposed Diary of Meetings for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Municipal Years, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be noted; and

(2)      the final version of the Diary of Meetings be presented to the Annual Meeting of Council in May, 2020, for final approval.

(i)        Questions on Notice to the Executive:-

None received for this meeting.

(ii)          Questions without Notice to the Executive and the Chairs of Committees.

A.   Questions on Notice

No questions on Notice from Elected Members had been received for this meeting.

B.   Questions Without Notice

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.2, the Chair of Council sought questions from Elected Members during Question Time.

A.    Questions to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones

Q. Councillor Andy Pickering asked the following question:-

“As it has been documented in the last few weeks, the Mexborough Ward Members have voiced concerns over the sale of the Mexborough Resource Centre, a deal which appears to put a valuable community resource in to private hands.  Should our concerns be realised and the processes of disposal were to be found invalid, could the Mayor assure us that DMBC would play a positive role in bringing the Centre back into the hands of the suitable community group?”

A. The Mayor of Doncaster gave the following response:-

“If there are any discrepancies in the disposals process, I would ask you to put them in writing and of course, they will always be investigated to ensure that the correct procedures have been followed.”

Q. Councillor Jonathan Wood asked the following question:-

“More recently, in addition to private developers, we have noticed that Council departments have been supporting recommendations for green belt to be removed for the development of highways, facilities, assets and various things.  It seems like it is a continual progression of creep into the green belt.  This is a two part question. The first is, whether you genuinely support the green belt?  I appreciate that we have got the Local Plan and I appreciate that you are not necessarily responsible directly for that, as it is a Planning matter.  Can you just give us a commitment that you stand behind green belt first and foremost?

Secondly, as different departments in the Local Authority have to appraise the necessity to support or deny developers the opportunity to take chunks of land out of the green belt, can you assure us and recognise, as the Council departments that come under your control, that green belt is something very special?  It is enshrined in law and development on green belt should only be recommended in very special and exceptional circumstances.”

A. The Mayor of Doncaster gave the following response:-

“I therefore take it that you are asking me whether I believe in green belt.  Of course I do, but we all know that sometimes there will be exceptional circumstances where green belt is put forward for development such as the iPort and the Great Yorkshire Way as examples.  You know we are declaring a green and cleaner environment for our Borough and this includes green belt.  The Local Plan approved by this Council, detailing our approach to green belt, is currently out for consultation and everyone will be making their representations.  So, in principle, of course I support green belt, but I do accept that there will be some exceptional circumstances and we would always ask that these exceptional circumstances be documented so that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

A.        Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority Board held on 18th November, 2019.

B.      Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board held on 4th November, 2019.

C.      South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority held on 14th October and 25th November, 2019.

D.      South Yorkshire Pensions Authority Local Pension Board held on 17th October, 2019.

E.      South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel held on 2nd December, 2019.

F.      Team Doncaster Strategic Partnership held on 15th October, 2019.

Councillor Pat Haith, Section 41 Member on the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (SYFRA), congratulated the SYFRA on its recent inspection report which had been rated as ‘good’ across all three judgement criteria.  This now placed the SYFRA amongst the top rated Fire and Rescue Services in England.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the following Joint Authorities be noted:-

A.        Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority Board held on 18th November, 2019.

B.      Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board held on 4th November, 2019.

C.      South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority held on 14th October and 25th November, 2019.

D.      South Yorkshire Pensions Authority Local Pension Board held on 17th October, 2019.

E.      South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel held on 2nd December, 2019.

F.      Team Doncaster Strategic Partnership held on 15th October, 2019.