Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 17 November 2022.

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

(a)       Call over (items 9-13) will be read out at the meeting and Members invited to reserve the items for discussion.

(b)       To approve the recommendations of those reports which have not been reserved for discussion.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to put questions to Cabinet Members or Committee Chairs. Questions mays provided that questions do not contravene the provisions set out Council Procedure Rule 10(2).

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Friday 20 January 2023 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

A period not exceeding three minutes is allowed for the presentation of a petition or deputation provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·            Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·            Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

To receive announcements from:

a)         The Mayor

b)         Leader of the Council

c)         Members of the Cabinet

d)         Chairs of Committees

e)         Head of Paid Service

a)    Leader and Cabinet Members’ Question Time (45 minutes) 

Any member of the Council may ask the Leader of the Council or any Cabinet Member up to five questions upon: 

·       Any matter relating to the Council’s administration 

·       Any matter relating to any report of the Cabinet appearing on the Council’s summons 

·       A matter coming within their portfolio of responsibilities 

b)    Questions to Chairs of Meetings (15 Minutes) 

Questions and responses will be published at least 24 hours before the meeting. Supplementary questions will be put and answered during the meeting, subject to the relevant time limit.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Strategy concerning adoption of the Gloucester City Plan as a part of Gloucester City Council’s statutory Development Plan.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance Resources seeking approval to retain the current Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2023/24.

To consider the report of the Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel concerning the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2022/23 and the review of Members’ allowances in respect of the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2023/24.

To consider the report of the Policy and Governance Manager seeking approval for a two-year programme of ordinary meetings of Council and other meetings for the period of May 2023 to April 2025.

To receive the report of the Head of Paid Service concerning the designation of a Monitoring Officer.

1.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR CHAMBERS-DUBUS

“There are many streets of terraced houses in inner city wards of Gloucester that have no front gardens and who’s front doors open straight onto the footpath. Such houses have no external access to the rear of the property. This makes it impractical to use conventional black refuse bins and instead residents are provided with black sacks as an alternative. Whilst the black sacks solve one problem, they actually create another as refuse spills out from the sacks causing litter which gets blown up and down the street. This is a health hazard, is unsightly and can attract vermin. It also results in extra street cleaning costs.  

This is not solely a Gloucester problem and other councils with similar terraced streets have adopted alternative methods to the black sacks. These include communal bins, large wheelie bins and some councils have installed large underground bins.

In order to address the problems with black sacks this council resolves to:

·       Review the effectiveness of black sacks in terraced streets.

·       Initiate discussions with Ubico to consider alternative methods including those used by other councils as mentioned above.

·       Consult with residents in affected streets to fully understand the problem and seek their views on realistic and workable alternatives.”

2.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR WILSON

“Council is extremely concerned by the recently announced cuts to BBC local radio programming.

The changes will cut local programming after 2pm – with most shows after this point being broader regional or national broadcasts.

Council notes the announcement has met fierce criticism from across the political spectrum.

BBC Radio Gloucestershire is a vital service for people in Gloucester. It helps residents stay connected to their local community, providing local news, culture, sport and weather updates, and gives residents an opportunity to have their say and participate in local debates through phone-ins. BBC Local Radio does this in a unique way that commercial radio cannot quite match.

In the last couple of years, during the Coronavirus pandemic, the station was able to help spread important information, while also in many ways being the only source of company for those residents cut off from the rest of society. During the cost of living crisis local radio will play a similarly crucial role in spreading information about support services, warm banks and a number of other important lifelines for residents.

BBC local radio also does a great job of holding decision makers to account – both local and national – as was demonstrated by the round of local interviews conducted with former Prime Minister Liz Truss on 29 September 2022.  

Council recognises the BBC is being forced into cuts by successive Government freezes to the license fee and the withdrawal of funding for free licenses for over 75’s.

Council calls on the Government to fund the BBC properly so it can continue to deliver a full schedule of local radio programming across the UK – in addition to its planned expansion of digital radio services.

Council instructs  ...  view the full agenda text for item 50.