Agenda and draft minutes

Minutes of meeting held on 12 October 2023 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meeting held 12 October 2023 were signed by the Chair as a correct record.

There were no items of urgent business.

To receive declarations by Councillors of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. 

Councillors are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). 

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Councillors should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Councillors are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct. 

There were no declarations of interest.

Report of the Chief Officer, Planning and Climate Change.

The Building Control Officer addressed the Committee to present a proposed response to the Future Homes and Buildings Standards 2023 Consultation. This consultation sought views relating to changes to Part L (conservation of fuel and power) and Part F (ventilation) of the Building Regulations for non-domestic buildings and dwellings; and overheating in new residential buildings.

The Committee then discussed the consultation and whether it represented a sufficiently ambitious step forward in the improvement of the Building Regulations but commended the strong responses to some of the questions. The Committee asked the Building Control Officer to provide additional context to the responses to several questions, particularly those concerning the circumstances where regulations may be relaxed or dispensed with. The Committee also asked if it was known when the consultation responses would be published and expressed an interest in seeing the report once it was available.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was proposed by the Chair, seconded by Councillor Parr, and agreed unanimously that:

“The draft response to the consultation should be submitted with no further comments.”

Resolved

(1)   “That the draft response to The Future Homes and Buildings Standards: 2023 Consultation is submitted as a formal response from Lancaster City Council.”

Report of the Monitoring Officer.

The Committee considered the proposed revisions to the Councillor Code of Conduct which had been recommended at the 11 January 2024 meeting of Standards Committee.

The Senior Manager, Democratic Support and Elections gave an overview of the proposed changes to the Code of Conduct which would provide further information for Members on acceptance and refusal of offers of gifts and hospitality and the requirements for declaring them, whether accepted or not.

The Committee requested clarification on the expectations set out by the Code of Conduct, particularly the requirements around the notification for receiving small items of hospitality. The Senior Manager Democratic Support and Elections provided additional context and practical advice for how such situations might be handled by Members.

It was proposed by Councillor Parr and seconded by Councillor Livermore that:

“Recommendations (1) and (2) be approved as in the report.”

When put to the vote this was resolved unanimously.

Resolved

(1)   That Council Business Committee approve the revisions to the Councillors’ Code of Conduct as recommended by Standards Committee on 11 January 2024.

(2) That the decision be reported to full Council for noting to ensure that all Councillors are aware of the revised requirements.

Report of Senior Manager, Democratic Support and Elections.

The Senior Manager, Democratic Support and Elections addressed the Committee to request several amendments to the 2024/25 Committee Timetable that had been previously agreed at the 8 November meeting of Council. The Committee was informed of some mistakes which had been identified since the timetable was approved and the proposed corrections.

It was proposed by the Chair and seconded by Councillor McGowan that:

“The proposed amendments to the 2024/25 Committee Timetable be approved.”

This was put to a vote and agreed unanimously.

Resolved

(1)   That the following amendments be made to the Committee Timetable for the 2024/25 Municipal year.

The 30 July 2024 meeting of Audit Committee be moved to 31 July 2024.

The 4 December 2024 Overview and Scrutiny meeting be removed and replaced with a meeting of Budget & Performance Panel.