Agenda and minutes

The Members had before them the Agenda papers (previously circulated)

To receive apologies and invite any councillor to declare any interest in any of the items on the agenda.

Apologies were received from Mr R C Adams, Mr A T Amos, Dr C Hotham, Dr A J Hopkins, Mr L C R Mallett, Mr R J Morris, Ms T L Onslow, Mrs M A Rayner, Mr A Stafford, and Ms S A Webb.

To receive any announcements to be made by the Chairman.

None.

Following receipt of a formal Requisition   under Procedural Standing Order 4 in the names of Mr P M  McDonald, Mr R M Udall,  Mr R C  Lunn,  Ms P Agar and Ms P A Hill , this Extraordinary meeting of the Council has been called to consider the following item of business:

"Council has no confidence in the ability of the Cabinet and its Leadership to carry out the functions, duties and obligations of the Council.  It is concerned about their ability to perform the statutory responsibilities of the Council; and to maintain sound financial planning and its budgetary responsibilities.

Therefore Council calls upon the Secretary of State to exercise his legal responsibilities to intervene in the running of Worcestershire County Council; permitting the takeover of all Council functions by the Secretary of State or his appointees under Section 15(6) of the Local Government Act 1999."

The Council had before it a formal Requisition under Procedural Standing Order 4 in the names of Mr P M McDonald, Mr R M Udall, Mr R C Lunn, Ms P Agar and Ms P A Hill.

The mover and seconder of the Motion made the following points:

·         The Council's finances were in disarray, with Council tax increased, reserves drawn down and charges increased. This had culminated in the Statement of Accounts not being signed off by the external auditor within the statutory timeframe. The impact of these budgetary reductions had left the Council on the brink of being in breach of its statutory duty 

·         The cuts to services had impacted upon the most vulnerable members of society at a time when demand was increasing

·         The Council was obsessed with privatising services at any cost. Public funds were being diverted to support private companies and their shareholders

·         The Council had ignored early warning from social workers expressing concern about potential issues in Children's Services as a result of pressures within the service, and bullying was taking place

·         The opposition had a duty to hold the executive to account and highlight issues of concern to the electorate, particularly major issues such as the decision to remove the Council's responsibilities for Children's social care as well as the impact of the proposed further budgetary reductions of £30m over 3 years, as the service was not safe with the controlling group

·         The ability of the Council to carry out its statutory functions was an important issue that warranted the calling of an extraordinary meeting

·         If the Government was not providing adequate funding to enable the Council to undertake its statutory functions, perhaps it should be invited to intervene to understand how difficult it was

·         Why should the public pay more Council Tax for fewer services?.

An amendment was moved by Mrs F M Oborski and seconded by Prof J W Raine as follows:

"Council is losing confidence in the ability of the Cabinet and its Leadership to fill and retain its top management team and guarantee good quality services. Council recognises that it faces severe challenges in both budgeting and in the delivery of high standard services. Council therefore resolves to utilise the skills of all members of Council, regardless of Political Party affiliation, in order to deliver the highest possible standards of service to the residents of Worcestershire within the best available financial framework.”

Those in favour of the amendment made the following comments:

·         There was a concern about the impact of the recent level of turnover of senior staff at the Council, in particular the potential loss of corporate knowledge and experience

·         The Council needed to better utilise the skills and expertise of all councillors to work in a cross-party way to ensure that the maximum benefit and best outcomes were achieved for the council taxpayers of the county

·         A better way of working was required if the Council was to avoid issues arising that had not been anticipated.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1936.