Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th July 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct.  In making their decision councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

The Director for Legal & Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer advised Council that all councillors had been granted a dispensation in relation to item 10 on the agenda “Notice of Motion relating to the Winter Fuel Allowance”.  There was no need for any individual councillor to make any disclosures in respect of the item or leave the meeting whilst the item was considered.

There were no other declarations of interest made.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of Council.

The Chair reported the recent death of David Durley, former member of East Dorset District Council.  The Chair invited Cllr A Skeats to say a few words in tribute.

A period of 30 minutes is allocated to receive and respond to questions and statements on the business of the Council in the following order:

(a) Questions and statements from Town and Parish Councils;

(b) Questions and statements from those living or working in the Dorset Council area;

A person or organisation can submit either 1 question or 1 statement at each meeting. 

You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via MS Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.  If you submit a statement for Full Council this will be circulated to all members of the council in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes of the meeting for the formal record but it will not be read out at the meeting.  The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received by Democratic Services will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline below:  

The full text of the question or statement must be received by 8.30am on Monday 7^th October 2024. All submissions must be emailed to susan.dallison@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk 

When submitting your question or statement please note that:

Sub-divided questions will not be accepted;

Each question can consist of up to 450 words, including a pre-amble to set the context of the question;

When submitting a question please indication who the question is for, i.e., the name of the Portfolio Holder;

You will need to include your full name, address and contact details;

All questions and statements will be published in full with the minutes of the meeting as a matter of public record.

There were 3 questions from the public and a copy of the Q&A’s was set out at Appendix 1 to these minutes.

A period of 15 minutes is allocated to receive and respond to petitions in accordance with the council’s petitions scheme.

A period of 15 minutes is allocated to receive and respond to deputations in accordance with the council’s constitution.

The petitions scheme and procedures relating to deputations can be viewed at:

Council Procedure Rules

There were no petitions and deputations received.

To receive any announcements and reports from the Leader of Council and members of the Cabinet.

The Leader of the Council made the following announcements:

·       That the responsibility for Leisure Services would now sit with the Cabinet Member for Customer, Culture and Community Engagement.

·       An all-member webinar would be held shortly on the “Dorset Council Plan”.

·       The budget setting process had begun, and the Leader invited all members to attend.

·       Updated members on the Council’s preference for a devolution deal with Somerset and Wiltshire Councils on a new “Heart of Wessex” region. The aim of the deal would be to unlock access to additional funding streams from Central Government and that the Council could work collaboratively with Somerset and Wiltshire on new initiatives.

·       Reported on an offer to visit town councils to listen to their concerns and issues.

·       Reported the retirement of Elaine Tibble, Senior Democratic Services Officer and thanked her for her service.

In response to a question regarding the devolution deal, the Leader of the Council confirmed that any final decision will be made by Full Council.  In response to an invite to attend the meetings of Parish Councils, the Leader of the Council responded that he would take councillor suggestions under advisement.

To receive questions submitted by councillors.  The deadline for receipt of questions is 8.30am on Monday 7^th October 2024.

There were 9 questions from councillors and a copy of these can be found at Appendix 2. 

In response to a supplementary question from Cllr S Flower, the Cabinet Member for Planning and Emergency Planning agreed that viability was a significant issue for the Council and indeed nationally.  The Council had written to Central Government separately in relation to the NPPF consultation around the matter of viability and that this needed to change in statutory planning law. He assured members that this lobbying would continue.

Responding to a supplementary question from Cllr J Vitali, the Cabinet Member for Planning and Emergency Planning indicated that it was intended that a new CIL schedule would be developed to cover the whole of the Dorset Council area as part of the Local Plan work.

In response to a question from Cllr B Quayle, the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills advised that in terms of this academic year, the data was not yet available, however it would be shared as soon as possible once received. She also agreed to meet with Cllr Quayle outside of the meeting to discuss this matter further.  Responding to a further question from Cllr Quayle regarding projects identified for educational purposes, the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills confirmed that she would seek that information and advise the councillor accordingly.

In response to a supplementary question from Cllr S Gibson, the Leader of the Council acknowledged the need for a suitable household recycling centre in the east of the County and the Waste Strategy aimed to address some of those issues of concern.

To consider a recommendation from Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member for Health & Housing presented the recommendation to adopt the Community Safety Plan and the Pan-Dorset Reducing Reoffending Strategy. The Cabinet Member advised Council that Community Safety Partnerships (CSP) were required to produce three-year community safety plans, which were refreshed annually, and strategies to reduce reoffending. These needed to the adopted by Full Council.

In response to a question regarding levels of hate crime, the Cabinet Member confirmed that the level of hate crime in the Dorset Council area was low, and members of the public could be assured that Dorset was relatively safe. However, this matter would continue to be monitored by the CSP.  In response to further questions, the Cabinet Member advised that the strategy would be considered by Scrutiny Committee on a date in the future as part of annual reporting.

It was proposed by Cllr G Taylor and seconded by Cllr S Robinson

Decision

That the Community Safety Plan 2023-2026 (2024-25 refresh), pan-Dorset Reducing Reoffending Strategy 2024-2027 and Serious Violence Strategy 2024-25 be adopted.

Reason for the Decision

To ensure that Dorset Council meets its duties as set out in relevant legislation.

To consider a Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr C Jones, seconded by Cllr S Flower.

Full Council received the following Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr C Jones seconded by Cllr S Flower and supported by Cllrs A Parry, L O’Leary, J Somper, P Dickenson, J Robinson, B Trite, V Pothecary, C Lugg, C Monks, B Quayle, B Goringe, S Murcer and A Skeats.

Motion Narrative and Action Required 

The recent Government’s decision to restrict the Winter Fuel Allowance to those pensioners receiving Pension Credit, despite having a fully costed plan, would mean at least 2 million pensioners across the UK, who were fractionally over the £218.15 weekly limit, would have to make difficult choices this winter, often choosing between heating and eating. Analysis showed that energy bills this winter would be the highest on record for elderly people, particularly with a near 10% increase in the cap expected in the autumn.

The demographics in Dorset with 30% over the age of 65, compared with the national average of 19%, would mean that the loss of the Winter Fuel Allowance would have a disproportionate impact on thousands of elderly and vulnerable pensioners across Dorset, in turn placing a huge additional burden on the already overstretched NHS and Adult Social Care budgets. Those who are just above the cut-off for pension credit would suffer the most and it’s not fair.

To move that:

1.    Dorset Council encourages those not on Pension Credit, who could be eligible to apply, to do so, offering help to complete of necessary forms, which for many could be a barrier. through a pro-active publicity campaign

2.    Dorset Council sign up to the ‘Save Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’, petition being run nationally by Age UK. 

3.    Dorset Council work with those local charities, which support the most vulnerable in our communities, offering guidance to gain access to the resources they need, particularly in support of those who qualify to benefit from the Cost-of-Living Support Fund, to help cope effectively with their heating needs during the cold Winter months.

4.    Dorset Council again writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim pension credit, are protected from fuel poverty with an assurance that energy companies will treat the vulnerable with a degree of leniency in respect to energy debt. Additionally, ask Government to provide data of those who are eligible in the Dorset Council Area.

In accordance with Procedure Rule 14.3 (a) the Notice of Motion, upon being proposed and seconded, was debated by Full Council.  Cllr P Kimber proposed an amendment and additional wording to the motion; however, this was not seconded. Members were generally supportive of the original motion and upon being put to the vote the motion was approved.

Decision

(a)       That Dorset Council encourages those not on Pension Credit, who could be eligible to apply, to do so, offering help to complete of necessary forms, which for many could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

To consider a Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr T Coombs, seconded by Cllr R Bryan.  

Full Council received the following Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr T Coombs seconded by Cllr R Bryan and supported by Cllrs S Bartlett, P Brown, S Christopher, N Lacey-Clarke, S Florek. S Gibson, J Haynes, S Jesperson, D Morgan, E Parker, D Shortell, D Sowry-House, G Suttle and K Wheller.

Motion Narrative and Action Required 

The number of cases reported to the RSPCA each year, regarding pets given as prizes via fairgrounds, social media, and other channels is a matter of concern. It is unethical for animals to be given as prizes.

Local authorities implementing local bans can help eliminate the giving of pets as prizes on council owned land.

This council has considered a similar motion in the past but did not implement a formal ban and press government for appropriate legislation, therefore we ask you to support the following motion:

1.      That Dorset Council recognises that many cases of pets being as prizes may go unreported each year and supports a move to ban the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form.

2.      That this Council agrees to:

a.   Ban outright the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on Dorset Council land.

b.      Write to the UK Government, urging an outright ban on the giving of live animals as prizes on both public and private land.

The majority of Council Members were supportive of this motion and upon being put to the vote the motion was carried.

Decision

(a)    That Dorset Council recognises that many cases of pets being as prizes may go unreported each year and supports a move to ban the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form.

(b)    That this Council agrees to:

(i)    Ban outright the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on Dorset Council land.

(c)    Write to the UK Government, urging an outright ban on the giving of live animals as prizes on both public and private land.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items to report.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph xx of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.

There is no scheduled exempt business for this meeting.

There was no exempt business to report.