In accordance with Procedure Rule 4, 16.2, the Deputy Mayor -

Cllr Miss Sanders -  MOVED, Cllr Hossack SECONDED and it was RESOLVED that Cllr Nolan should act as Vice-chair for the duration of the meeting.

The Deputy Mayor MOVED and Cllr Nolan SECONDED and it was RESOLVED that there should be a variation in the order of the agenda so that Item 12 – Investment Proposal – would be considered before Item 11 – Brentwood Leisure Trust – due to possible technical difficulties in re-joining the meeting for Members needing to withdraw having declared an interest in Item 11.   Also that Item 13 – Urgent Business – be considered before Item 12 so that the debate could be undertaken in the public domain if the motion to exclude the press and public (Item 10) was carried.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Clarke, Hirst, Kerslake,

Mrs McKinlay, Morrissey, Tanner and Tumbridge.

No declarations of interest were made at this stage.

The Deputy Mayor advised that £10,500 had been raised during Cllr Parker’s Mayoral Year which would be divided equally between his two chosen charities – St Francis Hospice and Prostate Cancer UK.  A formal presentation would be made to the charities at the 2021 Annual Council meeting.

She also advised that in light of the ongoing restrictions due to the pandemic there would be no Remembrance Day parade this year but the British Legion would lay a wreath at the war memorial on 8 November. A private service would be held at St Thomas’  which would be live-streamed and wreaths from the service would be laid at the war memorial on 11 November to commemorate the fallen. 

Virtual activities to mark Remembrance Day would be available on the Council’s Facebook page and the Remembrance Day flag would be flown and the Town Hall building lit up in red to commemorate the week of remembrance.

The Council’s Christmas event programme was to be delivered virtually this year and the Community Services team would pre-record some content to be broadcast on 28 November together with a virtual countdown of the switching on the Christmas lights. A Nutcracker trail would be set in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone for families to follow with a chance to win a Nintendo Switch. All the Nutcrackers had been sponsored by local businesses with the aim of encouraging footfall to the three High Streets.

MINUTES TO FOLLOW

The minutes of the Ordinary Council meeting held on 16 September 2020 were RESOLVED to be a true record.

No public questions had been received.

No memorials or petitions had been received.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

The Deputy Mayor advised that under rule 8.3.13 of the Constitution she MOVED and it was RESOLVED to defer Item 8 to the next Ordinary Council meeting as she believed that the items of business included in the agenda could not be accomplished satisfactorily in the time available (3 hours and 15 minutes stated at 10.1 of the Constitution).  

Six Notices of Motion had been received, as detailed in the report, however, Motion No 5 was withdrawn by Cllr Hossack as it had come to his attention that the six-month rule in the Constitution applied (Procedure Rules, 3.13) and Motion No 6 was not heard as Cllr Tumbridge was not present.

1.       Deferred from 16^th September 2020 Ordinary Council meeting.

Cllr Lewis MOVED and Cllr Aspinell SECONDED the following motion:  

In February 2020 the National Audit Office said “Local authorities face potential investment risks from buying commercial property, such as in the event of an economic recession or a downturn in a particular economic sector, particularly where authorities are dependent on their rental income to keep up with debt repayments or fund local services”.

In the light of the National Audit Office concerns and the United Kingdom now being in severe economic recession, this Council resolves in order to understand the impact of the Council purchasing commercial property may have on the Council’s finances moving forward that members of the Council call upon the officers to undertake a full review into the risks, rewards and relationship between Brentwood Borough Council and its wholly-owned subsidiary company SAIL. A full report must be submitted to the Policy Resources and Economic Development Committee within three months of today’s date.

Cllr Hossack advised that a report was to be brought to the 21 October 2020 Policy, Resources and Economic Development Committee meeting to consider what was proposed in this motion.

Following a debate Members voted on the motion and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY accordingly.

2.       Deferred from 16^th September 2020 Ordinary Council meeting.

Cllr Mrs Davies MOVED and Cllr Aspinell SECONDED the following motion:

There has been an increasing and widespread problem with drug taking and dealing from council properties. This illegal behaviour causes suffering and distress to residents and is detrimental to neighbourhoods in general.

This council requests officers take firm action when tenants have been found guilty of drug related offences, enforcing their tenancy agreements and seek eviction orders where appropriate.  Also this council adopts a zero tolerance and will not tolerate drug related anti-social behaviour within our council properties.

Following a debate Members voted on the motion and it was RESOLVED accordingly.

3.       Deferred from 16^th September 2020 Ordinary Council meeting.

   Cllr Mynott MOVED and Cllr Aspinell SECONDED the following Motion:

As a non-partisan national organisation with the best interests of local government at heart, the Local Government Association recently joined with fifteen other organisations imploring the government to keep the Planning system in England local. As reported in First magazine, 'In an open letter to the Telegraph, the LGA and partners warned that taking Planning powers away from communities and councils will only deprive them of the ability to define the area they live in and know best, and risks giving developers the freedom to "ride roughshod" over local areas'. Conservative Cllr James Jamieson, LGA chair, said 'Planning powers must remain at local level, to enable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 529.

An item of business may only be considered where the Chair is of the opinion that, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified in the Minutes, the item should be considered as a matter of urgency.

The Deputy Mayor had accepted this matter as urgent business due to the 12 October 2020 deadline for local authorities to have arrangements in place to administer payments.

Members were advised that the Government had set down the requirements for two payment schemes to be administered by the Council to help control the transmission of the Covid-19 virus.

1. The Test and Trace Payments Scheme, the standard scheme
2. The Test and Trace Discretionary Payments Scheme, the discretionary scheme

Members were being asked to delegate authority to the Director of Corporate Resources to finalise and implement the Brentwood Test & Trace Discretionary Payments Scheme.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Parker SECONDED the recommendations in the report and following a debate it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that:

1          The scheme as set out in Appendix Abe approved

2          Authority be delegated to the Council’s Director of Corporate Resources to finalise and implement the Brentwood Test & Trace Discretionary Payments Scheme and any requirement to amend the scheme in line with Government guidance.

That the public and press be excluded and the following item be considered in private session on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

The Deputy Mayor MOVED, Cllr Nolan SECONDED and it was RESOLVED  that the press and public be excluded from the meeting as the next two items of business to be considered - Items 11 and 12 - included exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the local Government Act 1972.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

The report/appendices are confidential by virtue of the likely

disclosure of information exempt under para. 1 and 3 of Part 1 to

Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, namely

information relating to any individual and information relating to

the financial or business affairs of any particular person

(including the Council).

Members had been advised that under Part 4 of the Constitution there were no Procedure rules to enable questions to be put at the meeting relating to the confidential items 11 and 12.

Cllr Kendall MOVED and Cllr Mynott SECONDED and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that under Procedure Rule 8 1.12 , rule 7 restricting the answering of questions to the Chair’s Reports be suspended for the duration of the meeting enabling Members to ask questions on the reports.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Parker SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

Cllr Kendall MOVED and Cllr Naylor SECONDED an AMENDMENT  which Cllr Hossack DID NOT ACCEPT and Members debated the AMENDMENT which was LOST.

Returning to the substantive motion, following a full debate the MOTION was CARRIED.

Cllrs Mrs Davies, Aspinell, Kendall and Chilvers each declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of knowing Gavin Stollar.

Following consideration of this item of business, the Mayor proposed under Procedure Rule 8.3.11(g) that the meeting continue beyond three hours and fifteen minutes and for a specified period of time – ie 30 minutes.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

The report/appendices are confidential by virtue of the likely

disclosure of information exempt under para. 1 and 3 of Part 1 to

Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, namely

information relating to any individual and information relating to

the financial or business affairs of any particular person

(including the Council).

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Poppy SECONDED the recommendations within the report andit was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY accordingly.

Cllr Reed declared a pecuniary interest by virtue of being employed by Brentwood Leisure Trust and withdrew from the meeting.

Cllr Parker advised that statements he had made which consisted of information available in the public domain had been reported in the local press and therefore he also withdrew from the meeting.

The meeting concluded at 10.45pm

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