Agenda and draft minutes

The Worshipful the Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting and outlined the arrangements for the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 24 July 2024

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 24 July 2024.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 24 July 2024 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Worshipful the Mayor informed the meeting that there were no Public Questions.

Consideration was given to a report on the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel.

There was no specific appointments process prescribed in the Regulations or Guidance, save that the Council should appoint the Panel and consider the issues detailed at paragraphs 8 – 11 of the report.

The Regulations required a Panel of at least three members, however, the Council’s Constitution stipulated that its Panel should comprise four members, with a quorum of 3. None of the Panel members must be serving elected Members of the authority in respect of which it makes recommendations, nor a member of a committee or sub-committee of such authority. Panel Members must also not be disqualified from being or becoming a member of an authority.

Guidance associated with the Regulations required appointing authorities to be satisfied that proposed Panel members would result in the Panel

Membership being sufficiently independent and well qualified to discharge the Panel’s functions, and representative of the diversity of communities in the Council’s area.

The terms of office of Stockton’s previous Independent Remuneration Panel expired on 31 May 2024. The Panel comprised the following non-elected members:

Tony Campbell

Kate Hoskin

Mark White

Terry Laing

Further details of the above non-elected members were attached to the report.

It was proposed that the previous members of the Panel, described above and attached to the report be reappointed.

The functions of the Panel were attached to the report. These were the

functions prescribed by regulation and detailed in the Council’s Constitution.

It was recommended that Council appoints a Chair. Tony Campbell was the Panel’s previous Chair and had lots of experience in this role. It was

recommended that he is appointed as the Chair of the Remuneration Panel.

It was recommended that the terms of office of the Panel Members be up to 31 May 2028, unless they were removed, resign or otherwise leave office before then. This would enable preparations for a new Panel to be established (or for the incumbent panel to be re-appointed) during the first year of the new Council, after the 2027 elections.

Council had previously reserved the right to remove any one, or more, of the Panel Members at any time. This power should be retained.

It was proposed that the payments previously agreed for the Panel Members’ work be retained. These were:-

Chair - £350 per day, subject to a maximum for each review of £1,750

Other Panel Members - £75 per day, subject to a maximum of £375 for each review; and All Panel Members – reasonable travel and subsistence expenses.

RESOLVED that:-

1. The previous members of the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel, as detailed in paragraph 4, and in Appendix 1 of the report, be reappointed, with their terms of office expiring on 31 May 2028.

2. The right be reserved to remove anyone, or more, of the Panel members at any time, as indicated in paragraph 10 of the report.

3. Tony Campbell be appointed as the Chair of the Panel.

4. The Panel’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item COU/139/24

Consideration was given to a report on the Stockton-on-Tees Youth Justice Plan.

Local authority partnerships had a statutory duty to submit a youth justice plan relating to their provision of youth justice services (YJSs). Section 40 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 sets out the youth justice partnerships responsibilities in producing a plan.

It stated that it was the duty of each local authority, in consultation with partner agencies, to formulate and implement an annual youth justice plan, setting out how YJSs in their area be provided and funded, how they would operate, and what functions would be carried out.

The Youth Justice Plan reports on the vision, strategy, governance, leadership and partnership arrangements. It reflected and built upon strong performance against key national performance measures. It documented key themes around child first principles, workforce development, diversion, exploitation and working with families.

The Youth Justice Plan was produced after consultation with partners.

The Plan documents seven key strategic objective for the forthcoming year as follows:-

1)         Help children stay out of the criminal justice system.

2)         To reduce reoffending.

3)         Reduce the use of custody and prioritise effective resettlement.

4)         Strengthen our responses to Serious Youth Violence and Child Exploitation.

5)         To reduce the number of school exclusions.

6)         To refresh our practice in our work victims and restorative practice.

7)         To develop a Participation model of practice.

A copy of the Stockton-on-Tees Youth Justice Plan was attached to the report.

RESOLVED that the Stockton-on-Tees Youth Justice Plan be approved.

The following motion had been submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 3.40, moved by Cllr Tony Riordan, seconded by Cllr Niall Innes:-

“Winter Fuel Allowance

Stockton Borough Council notes the recent decision by the Labour led Government to end universal winter fuel payments for our pensioners and restrict eligibility to only those in receipt of Pension Credits and other benefits.

The additional strain this decision will place on vulnerable pensioners, many of whom do not claim Pension Credit despite being eligible, further exacerbating their financial hardship.

The decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments, especially with such short notice and without adequate compensatory measures, is deeply unfair and will disproportionately affect the health and well-being of our poorest older residents.

The government’s approach fails to consider the administrative barriers and stigma that prevent our eligible pensioners from claiming Pension Credit, leaving many without the support they desperately need.

The significant role that Winter Fuel Payments play in helping our older residents of Stockton and across the UK afford heating during the coldest months, thereby preventing 'heat or eat' dilemmas and safeguarding health.

Council is deeply concerned that the vast majority of our pensioners who do not meet this threshold will now not receive the payments. Across England and Wales, the number of people eligible for winter fuel payments will fall by ten million (from 11.1million to only 1.2 million).

In Stockton Borough, the number of our pensioners affected by the change in eligibility criteria is 30,234. That means 87% of our pensioners currently eligible for winter fuel payments will no longer be able to claim the payment from this winter onwards.

Only those receiving a pension of less than £218.15 a week (or £332.95 a week for couples) are eligible for pension credits. This is significantly lower than the living wage rate.

Stockton Borough Council further notes that the Energy Price Cap is due to rise by 10% in October, which combined by the removal of Winter Fuel Payments will push thousands of our pensioners into fuel poverty.

Council resolves to:

• Instruct the Leader, Cllr Bob Cook to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for the policy on linking Winter Fuel Payments to Pension Credit receipt to be immediately reversed.

• Council further requests the Leader, Cllr Bob Cook write to the three Members of Parliament, Matt Vickers MP, Chris McDonald MP and Andy McDonald MP, who represent our pensioners and their families in the Borough asking them to give their formal support to reversing the changes to the Winter Fuel Payment eligibility by writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

• Request all group leaders within Stockton Borough Council sign a joint letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for the new Winter Fuel Payment policy to be reversed.”

Moved by Councillor Paul Rowling, seconded by Councillor Eileen Johnson that the substantive motion be amended as follows:-

Stockton Borough Council notes the recent decision by the Government to end universal Winter Fuel Allowance (WFA) payments  ...  view the full minutes text for item COU/141/24

The following Member Question had been submitted by Cllr Ted Strike for response by the Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture (Cllr Steve Nelson):-

“During the last two winters Stockton Council have supported the use of "Warm Spaces" with financial grants due to the high cost of fuel.

With Ofgen announcing an increase of 10% on gas and electric and the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Allowance for the vast majority of pensioners "Will Stockton Borough Council be providing this facility again this winter?”

The Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture responded with:-

“The Warm Spaces scheme was introduced in October 2022 in response to the cost of living crisis and the huge increase in utility charges and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Fairer Stockton on Tees team for their crucial involvement in the scheme.

In 2023 Warm Spaces were rebranded as Community Spaces with an all year round offer for residents.  Social isolation is a silent killer and Community Spaces play a major role in the borough in bringing people together in a warm and welcoming environment.

The scheme has been a major success and an excellent example of partnership working.  A report on the scheme is going to the next Cabinet so I won’t go into further details here.

To answer your specific question yes public health funding was provided for the scheme for both 2023/24 and 2024/25. Considering the increasing financial pressures on local authorities and the Council’s Powering Our Future transformation programme, it is imperative that Community Spaces venues are empowered to achieve long-term sustainability by accessing wider funding and are supported with funding bid applications.”

Member Question submitted by Cllr Niall Innes for response by the Leader of the Council (Cllr Bob Cook):-

“Can the Leader of the Council inform me of the total amount this Council has spent on Interim staff from January 2023 to date?”

The Leader of the Council responded with:-

“Can I start by saying that spending on interim staff is a necessary cost. Interim staff can be crucial to keeping our services running effectively whether that’s filling roles during recruitment, covering absences, or bringing in specialist skills when needed.

In terms of spend on interim staff, this is ordinarily funded through existing staffing budgets, so there’s no additional cost to the council over and above what we would ordinarily pay.

More exceptionally, when specialist expertise or additional capacity is required, any extra costs are carefully looked at and fully funded. Any decision to bring in interim staff must be justified and managed within our financial controls.

We manage our budgets on an annual cycle aligned with the financial year, not from arbitrary points like January 2023. We don’t operate a separate budget for interim staff, as I have already said interim staff are ordinarily funded through existing staffing budgets. Our annual staffing budget is £120 million and if we include our Xentrall shared service £126 million, approximately half our total budget.

Interim staffing is  ...  view the full minutes text for item COU/142/24

The Leader of the Council gave his Forward Plan and Leaders Statement.

Council last met on 24 July 2024. Cabinet last met on 12 September 2024 and considered the following matters:

• 2024/25 Quarter 1, Financial Update and Medium Term Financial Plan

• Central Stockton and North Thornaby Blueprint Delivery

• Accelerating affordable housing delivery (A quality home for all)

• Enhanced Mainstream Schools Consultation

• Stockton-on-Tees Youth Justice Plan and the Council's Independent Remuneration Panel

Cabinet would next meet on the 17 October 2024 and then the 14 November before the next meeting of Council.  The following items were scheduled for October Cabinet:

• Powering our Futures / Transformation

• Council Plan

• Annual Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

• Childcare Sufficiency Assessment

The Leader of the Council reminded Members of the Festival of Thrift taking place at John Whitehead Park in Billingham. There was also the by-election for the Fairfield ward. There was also libraries week taking place from 7 October, a chance to experience what the Council great libraries have to offer. Then many Members will be attending remembrance events across the Borough on remembrance Sunday.