Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Burrell, Cutler and Ozog.

An apology for lateness was submitted on behalf of Councillor Garden who subsequently joined the meeting after the agenda item  7, Motions.

To receive declarations of interest from Members including the terms(s) of the Grant of Dispensation (if any) by the Audit Board or Strategic Director (Internal Services).

The Mayor informed Members that the Strategic Director (Internal Services) had exercised her delegated authority, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, to grant a dispensation to all Parish/Town Councillors to speak and vote on Agenda item 11 (Financial Contributions to Parish and Town Councils 2021/22) because otherwise so many members of the Council would have had a prejudicial interest in the matter that it would impede the transaction of business.

There were no other declarations of interests.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Council held on 12 October 2020 as an accurate record.

            RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Council held on 12 October 2020 be confirmed as an accurate record.

The Mayor made the following announcements:

·       Betty Bullock

The Mayor informed Members that he had recently sent flowers to a local resident on behalf of the Council to commemorate her 100^th birthday.

·       Remembrance Sunday

The Mayor announced that he had attended the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the war memorial and represented all of the people who had been unable to attend this year due to COVID restrictions.

·       Other Events

The Mayor informed Members that he had had to turn down an opportunity to attend a ground-breaking ceremony at Ashmere on 3^rd December and the opening of the Snack Shack, which had been postponed, due to the current pandemic.  

·       Mayor’s Charity

The Mayor informed Members that fund-raising for the Mayor’s Charity had been heavily impacted by the pandemic with nearly all of the charitable events being cancelled. However he was happy to announce that it had been possible to raise some money.

The Leader of the Council made the following announcements:

·         Coronavirus Pandemic

The Leader advised Members that it had just been announced that London would be moving to tier 3 restrictions from Wednesday and that he did not know whether restrictions in Kent might be changed. The decision upon which tier should apply to an area was based upon a central algorithm using public health and hospital data. He stressed that with the roll-out of vaccination it was important for people to remain vigilant and to observe the restrictions. Although the Government intended to relax some restrictions over Christmas he urged people to act responsibly and to show restraint. 

·         Remembrance Sunday

The Leader of the Council informed Members that Remembrance Sunday had gone ahead despite the COVID restrictions and he felt that it was particularly important this year to continue to remember the sacrifices of those who had fallen during past conflicts. It had been a different and challenging ceremony this year and he thanked the Democratic Services Manager and all of the officers involved for the smooth running of the commemoration. He and the Mayor had attended to represent the Council and the people of Dartford and he had been particularly impressed by the Youth Council which had conducted itself with great dignity and represented a link from the past to the future.

·         Councillor Ian Armitt

The Leader of the Council paid tribute to Ian Armitt, who had recently resigned from the Council after many years of service. He had operated in the best interests of local people and the wards that he represented. He had been a model Councillor who knew how to pull the levers of power and what was good and what was not so good. He had been Mayor of Dartford on three occasions, assisted by his wife Lynn, a great supporter of the Orchard Theatre and of planning. Because of the current restrictions it had not been possible to organise a suitable farewell but it was hoped that something could be arranged once the restrictions were lifted. The Leader sent his best wishes to Mr & Mrs Armitt for the future.

·         Graham Harris

The Leader of the Council reminded Members that the Council’s former Managing Director, Graham Harris, had been a great follower of rugby, both as a player and a supporter and had been instrumental in the development of the new rugby facilities at Stone. A new road on the Littlebrook Estate had already been named after Mr Harris and the Council, with Darenth Valley Rugby Club, now planned to sponsor and host an annual youth rugby competition in his memory, which seemed a fitting memorial.

The Shadow Leader of the Council submitted the following questions in accordance with Standing Order 14:

Question 1

‘We all recognise the importance of progressing Brexit but does the Leader of the council agree with me that Dartford’s current infrastructure already struggles with existing traffic and does he agree with me that a Lorry Park will worsen the situation to the detriment of Dartfordians?’

Question 2

‘In 2018 The Leader said "nothing was off the table' in the fight for road safety. The 2019 Local Conservative manifesto backed the 20 is plenty scheme. How many roads has the council applied to be 20mph & besides the mirror on Fleet estate what new measures have been introduced?’

In accordance with Standing Order 14 the questions and answers, including any supplementary questions and answers, are recoded in a book kept for this purpose in the Members’ Area.

To consider the following motion submitted by the Deputy Shadow Leader of the Council, Councillor K J Grehan, in accordance with Standing Order 10:

This Council notes that, 

·         In 2016, it was reported by the Food Foundation that there?were more than 8 million people in the UK who had trouble putting food on the table, with nearly 5 million people thought to be regularly going an entire day without eating. 

·         This year the Children in Low income Families Local Measure, found 3,304 children to be living in absolute poverty in Dartford.

·         The fantastic job being undertaken by church and voluntary organisations throughout the borough, to ensure no one goes hungry and the contribution made to this by grants from DBC

·         That the true long-term extent of the Coronavirus pandemic on jobs and livelihoods is not yet known, and it is likely to put additional pressure on the?finances of local families.? 

·         The Council?also?recognises that the Government’s commitment to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) which apply internationally and domestically, through Goal 2, and commits governments to ending hunger by 2030.? 

 Therefore, this Council resolves to

·         Nominate?a Cabinet Member with responsibility for delivering food justice in Dartford; 

·         Request?the Leader of Dartford Borough Council to write to the relevant minister to ask the government to enshrine its existing commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 into domestic legislation; and

·         Work?with local voluntary organisations, schools, churches and other relevant organisations to develop and implement a Food Justice Action Plan by the end of 2021 so that the issue of food poverty in Dartford can be accurately quantified and subsequently eliminated.??

The Shadow Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor K J Grehan, moved the following motion of which she had given notice in accordance with Standing Order 10:

‘This Council notes that, 

·         In 2016, it was reported by the Food Foundation that there?were more than 8 million people in the UK who had trouble putting food on the table, with nearly 5 million people thought to be regularly going an entire day without eating. 

·       This year the Children in Low income Families Local Measure, found 3,304 children to be living in absolute poverty in Dartford.

·         The fantastic job being undertaken by church and voluntary organisations throughout the borough, to ensure no one goes hungry and the contribution made to this by grants from DBC

·         That the true long-term extent of the Coronavirus pandemic on jobs and livelihoods is not yet known, and it is likely to put additional pressure on the?finances of local families.? 

·         The Council?also?recognises that the Government’s commitment to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) which apply internationally and domestically, through Goal 2, and commits governments to ending hunger by 2030.? 

 Therefore, this Council resolves to

·         Nominate?a Cabinet Member with responsibility for delivering food justice in Dartford; 

·         Request?the Leader of Dartford Borough Council to write to the relevant minister to ask the government to enshrine its existing commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 into domestic legislation; and

·         Work?with local voluntary organisations, schools, churches and other relevant organisations to develop and implement a Food Justice Action Plan by the end of 2021 so that the issue of food poverty in Dartford can be accurately quantified and subsequently eliminated.’

In proposing the motion Councillor Grehan said that there had been fantastic work by people in the community and by Members from all parties during the pandemic to ensure that nobody went hungry. She felt that it was important to harness and build upon this good work and that past evidence showed that the best way to ensure that focus was maintained was to designate someone to have overall responsibility. It was proposed that this should be a Cabinet member.

The motion was seconded by Councillor S Gosine.

The motion was opened for debate.

The Leader of the Council informed Members that he agreed with much of content of the motion and the sentiments behind it, but needed to propose an amendment to reflect up-to-date data and the local context. It was important to continue to work with both new and old friends across the third sector but to ensure that this was based on accurate and up-to-date data and accurate descriptors rather than on historic information. It was also important to couch this work around food security, rather than food justice, and to recognise the important contribution that the Council had made during the pandemic, both directly and indirectly, along with the work with other volunteers and partners. He said that he was happy to write to the minister as requested  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

The Mayor will announce his decision as to whether there are any urgent items.

There were no urgent items.

It was moved by the Mayor, Councillor R S L Perfitt, seconded by Councillor J A Kite and

RESOLVED:

That in accordance with Standing Order 11(13) the General Assembly of the Council go into Committee and the rules of Procedures for Committees do apply.

THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR J A KITE MBE, IN THE

CHAIR

There were no references from other committees.

To determine the tax base for the whole area of Dartford Borough and for those parts relating to Parishes in accordance with section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

This report is ‘to follow’.

The Council was asked to determine the tax base for the Borough for

2021/22, including those parts relating to Parishes, in accordance with section

35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

            RESOLVED:

That, subject to the matters contained in this report and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 2012 and on the basis of the detailed calculations in Appendix A to the report, the amount calculated by the Dartford Borough Council as its tax base for the year 2021/22 shall be:

                                                                                                                             £

To agree the level of financial contributions to be paid to Parish and Town Councils in 2021/22.

The General Assembly of the Council considered a report which detailed the

proposed financial contributions to be made by the Council to Parish and

Town Councils in 2021/22 and the continuation of the Capacity Building Fund. The Leader of the Council explained that the Council worked closely with the parishes and the town council and unlike most authorities, continued to make a financial contribution to them. Whilst these contributions had been reducing in recent years, the Council recognised the extraordinary pressures on all authorities this year and for this reason had held the level of contribution to the parishes and town council at its current level for 2021/22.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed contributions to Parish/Town Councils,  be part of the overall budget, subject to formal approval at the 1 March 2021 Budget meeting.

To consider rolling forward the Local Council Tax Reduction scheme 2020/21 to 2021/22, with effect from 1 April 2021.

The Leader of the Council introduced a report which proposed that the current Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme should roll forward to 2021/22.

            RESOLVED:

That the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2020/21, be rolled forward to 2021/22, with effect from 1 April 2021.

To consider the Capital Programme 2020/21 and bring forward £2.208m of the New Homes Budget from 2021/22 to fund new homes spend in 2020/21.

The General Assembly of the Council a report which detailed the progress to date on the schemes contained in the approved Capital Programme 2020/21 and the current position on capital resources.

The Leader of the Council reminded Members that this item had been considered by the Cabinet and came to the General Assembly of the Council for review. He clarified the reason for proposing to bring forward £2.208m from the New Homes budget, which could appear to suggest a significant capital overspend in 2020/21. He explained that this was not the case but was necessary to ensure that the Council did not have to repay a proportion of capital receipts to the Government accruing from right-to-buy sales of Council housing and the provision of replacement housing under 1-4-1 funding arrangements. The requirement to repay receipts not spent on providing replacement housing within a specific timeframe did not respect the ebb and flow of the market for sales and the development and re-provision of housing and it was prudent to bring forward funding from the New Homes budget for 2021/22 to achieve a beneficial outcome. It made sense to spend money now so that the Council did not have to repay a percentage of receipts, with interest, to the Government.

            RESOLVED:

That the General Assembly of the Council notes the report and agrees to bring forward £2.208m of the New Homes budget from 2021/22 to fund new home spend in 2020/21

To seek authority to the making of The Dartford Borough Council (46-56 Lowfield Street) Compulsory Purchase Order 2020.

This report is ‘to follow’.

Please note that this item has been withdrawn from this meeting since the  agenda went to print.

The Leader of the Council advised Members that this item had been withdrawn and expressed his disappointment that this item had been included in the agenda. The Compulsory Purchase Order would be reported to the General Assembly of the Council for agreement when ready. He stressed that the Council used compulsory powers very rarely and that, indeed, the rest of the Lowfield Street site had been assembled by private treaty.

To consider the Council’s response to the Law Commission’s Consultation on ‘Hate Crime Laws’.

This report is ‘to follow’.

The General Assembly of the Council considered the Council’s proposed response to the Law Commission’s consultation on Hate Crime Laws. It was noted that the consultation included some technical and legal questions where the Council was not best positioned to comment in detail and that the consultation was not primarily aimed at local authorities. The Council’s response supported the general thrust of the Law Commission’s proposals and in particular the need for a clear route to justice for the victims of hate crime, unambiguous definitions of hate crime, consistent sanctions and a taking a wider comprehensive review of the criminal justice response to hate crimes generally.  Members strongly supported the proposed response and thanked the Member who had drawn the existence of the consultation to the Council’s attention.

In drawing the committee stage of the meeting to a close, the Leader of the Council reiterated the Council’s resolve to always work on behalf of the people of Dartford and to improve people’s lives. He commended the Council’s extraordinary work in an extraordinary year and cross party and community support. He wished everyone a Happy Christmas and reminded people that the Council would continue to provide support for anyone who needed it via the priority helpline number.

            RESOLVED:

That the Council’s response to the Law Commission’s consultation on ‘Hate Crime Laws’,  as outlined in [italicised] paragraph 3.6 of the report, be endorsed.  

It was moved by Councillor J A Kite, seconded by Councillor C J Shippam and

RESOLVED:

That in accordance with Standing Order 11(14) the General Assembly of the Council now re-convene.

THE MAYOR, COUNCILLOR R S L PERFITT, IN THE CHAIR

To consider any of the minutes of the following Cabinet meeting reserved in accordance with Standing Order 16:

(a)       for full debate by Political Groups on the Council;

(b)       by Ward Members.

Cabinet

29 October 2020

No Cabinet minutes had been reserved for debate.

The Mayor wished Members, officers and everyone viewing the meeting on YouTube a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2021.