Agenda and minutes

To invite nominations and elect the Chair of the Council to serve until the Annual General Meeting in May 2024.

Councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey, Vice Chair of Council, invited nominations for the election of Chair of Council, to serve until the Annual General Meeting of Somerset Council in May 2024.

Councillor Bill Revans proposed, which was duly seconded by Councillor Mandy Chilcott that Councillor Mike Best be elected as Chair of Council to serve until the next Annual General Meeting in May 2024. The Chair then read and signed the formal Declaration of Acceptance of Office and received the Chain of Office:

"I, Mike Best, having been elected to the Office of Chair of Somerset Council, declare that I take that Office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties of it according to the best of my judgment and ability. I will now sign that declaration."

To invite nominations and elect the Vice Chair of the Council to serve until the Annual General Meeting in May 2024.

Councillor Mike Best, Chair of Council invited nominations for the election of Vice Chair of Council, to serve until the Annual General Meeting of Somerset Council in May 2024.

Councillor Bill Revans proposed, which was duly seconded by Councillor Mandy Chilcott that Councillor Lee Baker be elected as Vice Chair of Council to serve until the next Annual General Meeting in May 2024. The Vice Chair then read and signed the formal Declaration of Acceptance of Office and received the Chain of Office from the Chair:

"I, Lee Baker, having been elected to the Office of Vice Chair of Somerset Council, declare that I take that Office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties of it according to the best of my judgment and ability. I will now sign that declaration."

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Jason Baker, Shane Collins, Dawn Denton, Martin Dimery, David Fothergill, Val Keitch, Jenny Kenton, Tim Kerley, Mike Murphy, Graham Oakes, Connor Payne and Tony Robbins.

To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

(The personal interests of Councillors of Somerset Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.)

Councillors present at the meeting declared the following interests in their capacity as a Councillor of a City, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-

To receive the Chair’s Announcements.

The Chair of Council, Councillor Mike Best, referred to the events detailed on the Chair’s Information Sheet, circulated and published with the agenda.

Council observed a minutes silence in memory of Councillor Mike Lewis who had sadly passed away.  Several councillors paid tribute to him at the meeting, including Councillors David Fothergill, Mandy Chlicott, Martin Wale, Bill Revans and Henry Hobhouse.

Councillor Andy Dingwall raised a question, regarding the amount of money the Council had spent marking the recent Coronation, the detail and the response provided are attached to the minutes in Appendix A.

Councillors Henry Hobhouse and Sarah Dyke both thanked officers for all the hard work carried out in their local area to support those affected by the recent flooding events in the County.

To approve the minutes from the previous meetings of Somerset County Council held on 22 February and 1 March 2023.

The Council RESOLVED that the minutes of Full Council meetings held on 22 February 2023 and 1 March 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.

We are now live webcasting most of our committee meetings and you are welcome to view and listen to the discussion. The link to each webcast will be available on the meeting webpage, please see details under ‘click here to join online meeting’.

Public questions were received from:-

·       Matt Harrison, Shepton Mallet Town Council

·       Amanda Millar, Problems on the Dunstan Park Estate, Glastonbury

·       Loretta Whetlor, B3191 Watchet, Nolan Principles of Public Life

·       David Redgewell, Public Transport in Somerset

·       Tess Gill, Petition, Cross to Axbridge Safe Path 

·       Sigurd Reimer, Climate Emergency and Carbon Neutrality

·       Nigel Behan, Global Warming 

·       Elizabeth Browne, Social Care Provision and Housing Development

·       Sarah Baker, Social Care Provision and Housing Development

·       Simon Peter McKie, Library Service and OUP Reference Database

·       Eva Bryczkowski, Save Yeovil’s Acute Stroke Care Services

·       Rick Beaver, spoke on behalf of Ray Tostevin – Petition to Save Yeovil’s Acute Stroke Care Services.

The questions and the responses provided are attached to the minutes in Appendix A.

The Council debated the Petition to Save Yeovil’s Acute Stroke Care Services and the following points were raised:-

• Councillors thanked the representatives of Quicksilver Community Group for their submission of the petition.
• Councillors supported the views raised within the petition.
• Councillors echoed the concerns raised, especially those on travel time which impacted on stroke victims who were seeking medical treatment within the ‘golden hour’.
• Praise was given to the speakers who set out their issues in a clear manner.

·       Councillor Bill Revans informed the Council of his personal experiences and the care received by his late wife.

• Councillors agreed that the debate needed to go further with the National Health Service (NHS) as with any lack in NHS provision, it could mean that council services suffered as a consequence.
• Councillors highlighted that the issue had previously been taken to meetings of Scrutiny Committee for debate.
• Councillors highlighted that the proposed closure was due to lack of funding from Central Government.
• Councillors agreed that the petition needed to be passed onto the NHS for action.

Councillor Faye Purbrick proposed the following recommendations, which were duly seconded by Councillor Bill Revans.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to approve the following:

1)    That Somerset Council undertake to make representations to our partners about our concerns on the potential risks to all Somerset residents by the removal of the acute stroke provision in Yeovil.

2)    That Somerset Council further explored the impact and options of the proposed change and for the Somerset Council Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee to allow for debate and public representations, at the 31st May meeting, on their concerns related to risk to outcomes and Somerset Council services.

3)    That Somerset Council wrote to all MPs in the County to request their support.

Meeting adjourned at 16:08

Meeting restarted at 16:20

The Chair of the Special Members Panel, Councillor Bill Revans, introduced the report which set out the recommendations to Council which arose from the consideration of the report at the Special Members Panel meeting held on 10 May 2023.

The purpose of the report was to present details of proposed dismissals on account of redundancy in relation to the creation of Somerset Council and the appointments to its Senior Leadership Team.  It provided recommendations on the role of Full Council in relation to those dismissals and requested the necessary delegation to the Somerset Council Chief Executive to finalise details of the payments associated with the redundancies, in line with the appropriate legislation and policies.

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

• Councillors gave their sincere thanks and appreciation to all the officers affected and noted the loss of experience and expertise to the Council.
• Councillors urged that the remainder of the recruitment process be undertaken as soon as practicably possible for the officers in the remaining tiers, as concern was raised on morale and mental health for those waiting for the outcome of any re-structuring of departments.
• Councillors highlighted that the detail within the report was formed as part of the original unitary bid and thanked the officers who had worked on the business case.
• The Leader of Council thanked all councillors for their comments and reminded all that the Council had to follow the legal and fair process for the recruitment.

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Faye Purbrick.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to accept the following in response to the Special Members Panel report “Somerset Council Redundancies Arising from Implementation of the Senior Leadership Structure” (Appendix B) considered by the Special Members Panel on 10 May 2023:

2.1.1        Approve the recommendations of the Special Members Panel, in respect of the proposed dismissals on account of redundancy of current and former chief/deputy chief officer posts and associated costs set out in section 9.3 of Appendix B to the report.

2.1.2       Approve the severance costs for posts as set out in section 8.2 of Appendix B, where Full Council approval was required for costs that exceeded £100,000.

2.1.3       Note the decisions of the Special Members Panel, in respect of dismissals on account of redundancy for posts that were not included in 2.1.1 - 2.1.2, above. 

2.1.4       Delegate authority to the Chief Executive to agree the final date of dismissal and the final redundancy packages, noting that such settlements would not exceed contractual redundancy pay, the payment required under statute to the Local Government Pension Scheme, or the requirement for Full Council approval for any severance payment that exceeded £100,000.

The Chief Executive, Duncan Sharkey, highlighted an addendum to the paper regarding a non-Local Government Review related redundancy associated to the cancellation of the Libraries West contract.

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations included within the addendum report which were seconded by Councillor Mandy Chilcott.

Having  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Statutory Officer appointments.

The Chief Executive, Duncan Sharkey, introduced the report which detailed the process to appoint the Monitoring Officer, the Executive Director of Children and Families and the Service Directors.

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

• Councillors congratulated those officers who had been successful in being appointed to Executive Director and Service Director roles.
• Councillors highlighted the detailed and thorough recruitment process.
• Councillors thanked the current Monitoring Officer, Scott Wooldridge, for all his hard work.

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Mandy Chilcott.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to:

2.1  Note the appointments of Service Directors for Somerset Council

2.2  Designate and empower David Clark with the statutory chief officer functions of the Monitoring Officer for Somerset Council.

2.3Note the appointment of Claire Winter as the Executive Director, Children and Family Services

2.4Approve the salary of £146,892 for the Executive Director of Children and Family Services.

Recommendation for appointment of a Vice Chair.

The Chair of the Standards Committee, Councillor John Bailey, introduced the report which set out a recommendation agreed at the meeting held on 19 April 2023, to appoint a Vice Chair for the Standards Committee.

Councillor John Bailey advised that the reason behind the recommendation was to provide resilience for the committee should the Chair be absent or unable to preside over any part of the meeting.

Councillor John Bailey proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Leigh Redman.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to:

2.1  Amend the Standards Committee’s terms of reference in the Constitution to include the appointment of a vice-chair;

2.2  Agree the Committee’s nomination of Councillor Brian Smedley for the role of vice-chair; and

2.3Request that the Independent Remuneration Panel considered and recommended to the Council whether the role should be awarded a Special Responsibility Allowance and if so at what level that should be set at.

Annual review of electoral fees and charges.

The Chief Executive and Returning Officer, Duncan Sharkey, introduced the report which set out the scale of fees and charges now that Somerset Council had assumed the responsibility for running the various elections which were previously run by the four district councils.

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

• Councillors urged officers to calculate an actual cost of an election for Parish Councils to use in calculations for their council tax precepts.
• Councillors suggested that the Local Community Networks should receive training on election costs to better assist their local councils.
• Councillors thanked officers for their work on the elections and were happy to support the recommendations.

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor John Hunt.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to note the report and approve the fees and charges to apply to the various elections in Somerset for 2023/4 set out in the Appendices to the report. 

Somerset Board Constitution.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Bill Revans, introduced the report which set out the proposed future arrangements for the Board for consideration and approval by Full Council including amendments to the current Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) terms of reference to allow them to be better aligned. 

The proposed purpose of the Somerset Board would see it become a high-level strategic partnership for health care and wellbeing across the county; in essence to consider all influences on what it was to live and work in Somerset. It would be comprised of members of the Somerset HWB and ICP. 

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

• Councillors thanked officers for their work on the HWB and ICP.
• Councillors endorsed joint working with colleagues in the Health Sector.
• Councillors highlighted the importance of scrutiny within the work of the Board.
• Concern was raised regarding the lack of frequency of meetings.
• Concern was raised regarding the composition and membership of the Board.

In response to the points raised, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Bill Revans, noted: that he was happy to monitor and review meeting frequency if this proved necessary; that he was happy to review the composition and membership of the Board if this proved necessary; and that the Lead Member for Public Health, Equalities and Diversity would ensure other key partners and stakeholders were invited to attend meetings and present feedback from their organisations for debate.

Councillor Adam Dance proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Mandy Chilcott.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to approve the following:

2.1   That Full Council considered the proposals and approved the approach to align the HWB and the ICP committees to sit in common through the Somerset Board.

2.2  That Full Council approved the attached overarching Somerset Board Constitution which included updates to the Terms of Reference for the HWB and ICP (Appendix 1).  

1)     Somerset Council to treat care experience as if it were a protected characteristic.

2)    Discounted youth bus pass for 16 to 25 year olds.

Somerset Council to treat Care Experience as if it were a Protected Characteristic Motion

Councillors Leigh Redman introduced the Motion and noted the following:-

·       The role of all Councillors as a corporate parent.

·       The Council had undertaken much work of late, including the Care Leavers Covenant.

·       The need to revisit the Care Leavers Covenant to ensure it remained fit for purpose.

·       The importance of Councillors supporting the Motion.

·       The Motion included some pretty harrowing statistics like the UCL study which showed 70% of care experienced people died early or ‘Become Charity’s’ research that showed over 50% of people who were in custody up to the age of 21 had been in care or the facts contained in the Independent Review of Children's Social Care that showed a quarter of the homeless population was care experienced. 

·       The Motion was already being adopted by Councils around the country, taking the issue into their own hands. 

·       That the Motion was not seeking to change legislation, but that it was hoped this would happen in line with one of Josh McAlister’s recommendations in his independent care review. 

The Council discussed the Motion and the following points were raised:-

• Councillors thanked Councillor Redman for the Motion.
• Councillors welcomed the Motion.
• Councillors highlighted it was about the principles over and above corporate parenting.
• Councillors agreed it was right for the people of Somerset and the country.

Councillor Leigh Redman proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Frances Nicholson.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to approve the following:

1)     That the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer ensured that all council making decision documentation had in it appropriate sections to allow for the impact upon ‘care experienced people’ to be considered in decision making, where relevant and that:

2)    Officers considered how information might be captured and reported to council.

3)    Any publication of information relating to people who shared a Protected Characteristic also included ‘care experienced people’

4)    To proactively seek out and listen to the voices of care experienced people of all ages when developing new Council policies and plans and, where possible, those where the Council produced them in partnership with others.

5)    To request that the Chief Executive, as Head of Paid Service, explored with the Director of HR how the Council could seek to guarantee all care experienced persons an interview where they met the essential criteria of the post applied for.

6)    That the Executive Member for Children and Families wrote to all public bodies represented in the Council area to make them aware of this motion and, where possible and within available resources, offer training on corporate parenting and issues facing care experienced people and to work with our partners and our care experienced population to understand what corporate parenting meant for them.

7)     And further the Executive member should write to Somerset MPs making them aware of this motion and asking them to press government to amend the law to include Care Experienced persons as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

·       Annual Report of the Leader of the Council.

·       Key decisions taken by the Executive, Executive Lead Members or Directors since the last Council meeting.

The Leader of the Council introduced his annual report which included a summary of the key decisions taken by the Leader and the Executive.

The Council discussed the report and the following points were addressed to the Lead Members:-

• Wellington Library refurbishment contract
• Capital Programme and allocation of funds for projects
• Medium Term Financial Plan
• Grass cutting and lack of service
• Timeline for Schools for Special Educational Needs
• Traveller encampments and park and ride site configuration to restrict access

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Heather Shearer.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to:

2.1   Receive the annual report of the Leader of the Council as set out in Appendix 1; and

2.2  Note the details of key decisions taken by the Leader, the Executive, Executive Lead Members and Senior Officers as set out in Appendix 2.

The Monitoring Officer, David Clark, introduced the report which set out for the 2023/24 municipal year the proposed allocation and appointment of members to committee places/seats (see Paper A), the proposed appointment of members to Outside Bodies (see Paper B) and the Council’s approval to the accuracy of minutes of several former committees of legacy district councils (see Paper C).   

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

Paper A

• Councillors supported the recommendations but questions were raised regarding the delay in the publication of the report.

Paper B

• The Deputy Leader highlighted that the representatives on the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust should be Councillor Adam Dance and Councillor Heather Shearer to ensure continuity of representation.

·       It was noted that as a mark of respect, any Outside Body appointments formerly held by Councillor Mike Lewis had been left vacant at this time.

·       Councillors questioned when the Outside Bodies would be notified of any changes to their nominated member representatives.

Paper C

• Councillors requested work was undertaken to ensure that actions agreed by the previous councils were not lost in the transition period.

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Heather Shearer.

Having been duly proposed and seconded the Council RESOLVED to approve:

Paper A

1)     Note the political balance of the Council and agreed the proposed allocation of committee places as set out in this report and its appendices;

2)    Agree the terms of reference, size and quorum arrangements for all committees as set out in the Council’s Constitution

3)    Continue to agree the recommendation of the political group leaders to continue to set aside the political balance rules for the Standards Committee and the four area-based Planning Committees and instead allocated places for those committees on the basis set out in Appendix 3; 

4)    Approve the appointment of Chairs, Vice-Chairs, members and co-opted members to the Council’s committee and joint committees as set out in the Appointments Schedule (see Appendix 3)

5)    Delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the appropriate political group leader, to make in-year changes to committee and joint committee appointments (excluding the appointment of Chairs and Vice-Chairs) in accordance with the allocation of places to political groups by the Council and the wishes of the relevant political group leader.     

Paper B

6)    Agree the appointment of members to internal, partnership and outside bodies for 2023/24 until the next Annual General Meeting, as set out in Appendix 1. 

7)     Delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the  political group leaders, to make in-year changes to internal, partnership and outside bodies appointments in accordance with the wishes of the relevant political group leader.     

Paper C

8)    Approve the accuracy of the minutes of several former committee meetings of legacy councils as set out in Appendices 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. 

9)    Agree the case for exempt information for the minutes of the former Mendip District Council Audit Committee meeting on 22 March 2023 (Appendix  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.