Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors C Allen, R Allen, Boothby, O’Shea, Pendlebury, Smith and H Williams.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2021.

It was moved by Councillor Lay, seconded by Councillor W Crooks and

RESOLVED – the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June be approved as a correct record.

No interests were declared at this stage.

The Mayor spoke about former councillor John Collins who had passed away recently and led a minute’s silence. Other members spoke in remembrance of Mr Collins who was well respected and worked hard both within the Council and in the community.

The Mayor informed members that he had sent a letter to the Mayor of Herford to express condolences about the recent devastating flooding in the area. He also reported on events he had attended including Armed Forces Day and a presentation to war veteran Gordon Bennett of Earl Shilton.

Welcome to my position statement for tonight’s Council. You will note there is a single report item on the financial outturn for 2020/21 which my colleague, Keith Lynch, Executive Member for Finance, will take you through. I have included below some key updates.

Motion on fibre optic broadband

At the last Council meeting, a motion was proposed by Councillor Allen and seconded by Councillor Findlay, seeking a commitment from BT and Openreach to bring forward investment of full fibre broadband in Sketchley Brook and Bosworth Manor. It was also resolved that a request be made to the government to include a requirement to install the highest standard of telecommunications infrastructure in all new residential developments as part of the government review of the planning system.

I am pleased to inform you that, following a letter from the council’s Chief Executive, a positive response has been received from the CEO and a director of Openreach, confirming commitment to install fibre optic broadband to the areas in question. I hope this will now provide a good basis of securing such infrastructure in all residential developments in the borough.

Team GB success

I would like to extend my congratulations to the whole of the GB team for their magnificent success at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which, as you will know, were delayed by over a year due to the Covid pandemic.

Music in the Mead

I am pleased to confirm our popular Music in the Mead outdoor live music performances have wowed the socially distanced crowds during July and further performances are planned over the next three weekends in August and into September.

Argents Mead was also host to the return of our very popular Snapdragon programme that welcomed families over three days last week for a host of activities.

Honouring our Armed Forces

A special outdoor service and parade was held on Saturday, 26 June to enable people in the area to show their support for the Armed Forces. The open air service in Argents Mead was led by Reverend Gary Weston. I would like to pass on my thanks to officers and the council’s Armed Forces member champions for the work they do to ensure our Armed Forces are acknowledged and that our fallen soldiers are remembered.

HGV driver shortage

Members will be aware of the national issue of HGV driver shortages which is estimated to be a shortage of 100,000 qualified drivers that is impacting on businesses and local government nationally. This has been compounded by impacts of covid sickness and drivers being “pinged” by the NHS app and having to self-isolate.

I would like to extend my thanks to our staff in Street Scene and Customer Services who are doing their very best to help manage the situation and deal with customer queries. I would also like to thank the residents of Hinckley & Bosworth for their understanding due to the recent disruption to green waste (brown bin) collections. We were able to return to normal services from last  ...  view the full agenda text for item 95.

In his position statement, the Leader referred to:

·         The successful outcome of the motion to the last meeting of Council in relation to fibre optic broadband

·         The success of Team GB at the Olympics

·         Music in the Mead

·         Armed Forces Day

·         Feast Hinckley

·         Proms in the Park

·         The Making a Difference Awards

·         The HGV driver shortage, in which he thanked officers in Street Scene and Customer Services and also the public for their patience and understanding whilst the garden waste bin service was paused.

The Leader thanked officers in Cultural Services for running successful events, such as the Snapdragon festival and Feast Hinckley, for the benefit of residents. Other members echoed this sentiment and asked that thanks be passed onto officers.

To seek approval of the draft financial outturn for 2020/21.

Consideration was given to the draft financial outturn for 2020/21. The Head of Finance and his team were thanked for their hard work during a challenging time. During discussion, the following points were raised:

·         The importance of continued financial support from the government

·         The human cost of covid in addition to the financial implications

·         The need to give greater consideration to the climate implications within the report.

It was moved by Councillor Lynch, seconded by Councillor Bray and

RESOLVED –

(i)            The general fund outturn for 2020/21 be approved;

(ii)          The transfer to earmarked reserves and balances as outlined in the report be approved;

(iii)         The general fund revenue carry forwards of expenditure and income to 2021/22 be approved;

(iv)         The housing revenue and housing repairs account outturn for 2020/21 and transfers to and from balances be approved;

(v)          The capital programme outturn for the general fund and housing revenue account from 2020/21 be approved;

(vi)         The HRA carry forwards be approved;

(vii)        The capital carry forwards be approved;

(viii)       A £1.950m affordable housing budget be approved;

(ix)         A virement of £200,000 from the electrical rewires budget to doors and windows replacement be approved.