Meetings

Meeting Details

Meeting Summary
Council
17 Oct 2024 - 19:00 to 20:54
Scheduled
  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Standard Items
1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
To receive any apologies for absence. 


2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

You have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter to be discussed if it relates to something on your Register of Interests form. You must declare the interest and leave the room while the matter is dealt with.

You have a Personal Interest in a matter to be discussed if it affects
•    your well being or financial position
•    that of your family or close friends
•    that of a club or society in which you have a management role
•    that of another public body of which you are a member to a greater extent than others in your ward.
You must declare a personal interest but can speak and vote on the matter.

Whenever you declare an interest you must say why the interest arises, so that it can be included in the minutes. 

3 ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS

 

To consider any items of Urgent Business.

 

 

4 MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Council to receive any announcements from Her Worship the Mayor.

 

 

5 LEADER'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Council to receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council.

 

 

6 pdf MINUTES (161Kb)

 

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on the 25 July 2024.

 

 

7 CHANGES TO COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUP MEMBER REPRESENTATION

 

Council to consider any changes to Committees and Working Group Members.

 

Report attached.

 

 

 

Report attached.

 

 

 

Report attached.

 

 

 

Report attached.

 

 

14 MOTION ON NOTICE

 

Motion 1 - Winter Fuel Allowance

 

Council are asked to consider the following Motion on Notice from Councillors Wells, Candon, Smith, Flaxman-Taylor, Plant, Bensly, P Carpenter.

 

Great Yarmouth Borough Council notes that:

 

The Labour Government's recent decision to restrict the Winter Fuel Payment to only pensioners in receipt of means-tested benefits like Pension Credit, as announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. This decision is estimated by Age UK will mean that 2 million pensioners who badly need the money to stay warm this winter will not receive it. Winter Fuel Payments play an important role by helping older residents of Great Yarmouth and across the UK afford heating during the coldest months, thereby preventing 'heat or eat' dilemmas and safeguarding health. It had been broadly agreed that this decision will place on vulnerable pensioners, many of whom do not claim Pension Credit despite being eligible, further exacerbating their financial hardship. This news has been followed by announced that the energy price cap will raise costing the average family an additional £149.

 

Council believes:

 

That the Winter Fuel Payment has been a lifeline for many older people across the UK and that restricting its availability solely to those on Pension Credit risks leaving many pensioners in financial hardship.

While some pensioners currently in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment may not require it, many thousands across Great Yarmouth sit just above the cut­ off for Pension Credit and will now lose their allowance.

The decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments, especially with such short notice and without adequate compensatory measures, is deeply unfair and will disproportionately affect the health and well-being of our poorest older residents.

The government's approach fails to consider the administrative barriers and stigma that prevent eligible pensioners from claiming Pension Credit, leaving many without the support they desperately need.

 

Council resolves to:

 

Bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to alert those eligible of Pension Credit which in some respects will help access to the Winter Fuel Payment for those most in need.

 

Request that the Council Leader write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the \A/inter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.


Commit the Council to signing the 'Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners' petition being run by Age UK and write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the petition themselves.

 

Encourage local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through council services and partnerships with local charities and community organisations to ensure that all eligible pensioners in Great Yarmouth are supported in claiming their entitlement.

 

Motion 2 - New Hospital Program - James Paget Hospital 

 

Council are asked to consider the following Motion on Notice from Councillors Candon, Wells, Smith, Plant, Bensly, P Carpenter.

 

To call on the Government to fast track its review of the New Hospital Program and honour the commitment to rebuild the James Paget Hospital.

 

This Council notes:

 

That the James Paget was amongst the hospitals earmarked for a rebuild as part of the New Hospital Program, since then considerable work has been undertaken by the Department of Health and Social Care, the James Paget University Hospital Trust and local Stakeholders to progress this plan. During the recently General Election, concerns were raised regarding the Labour Party's plans regarding this program, and the Labour Candidate explicitly claimed that the rebuild would take place under a Labour Government.

 

The Council further notes that:

 

This work and plan has been placed at jeopardy, after the Chancellor The Rt. Hon Rachel Reeves MP, has announced a review of the scheme. This is extremely regrettable, as a new facility is much needed.

 

The Council resolves

 

To instruct the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Health and The Chancellor to highlight the need for the James Paget rebuild to go ahead and request an urgent decision

 

 

15 EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC
In the event of the Committee wishing to exclude the public from the meeting, the following resolution will be moved:-

"That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12(A) of the said Act."

16 24-102 - CONFIDENTIAL - AFFORDABLE HOUSING DELIVERY UPDATE

Attendance

Attended - Other Members
Name
No other member attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
Apologies
NameReason for Sending Apology
Penny Carpenter 
Absent
NameReason for Absence
No absentee information has been recorded for the meeting.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

PRESENT:-

Her Worship the Mayor, Councillor P Waters-Bunn; Councillors Annison, Bensly, Bird, Borg, Boyd, Candon, Capewell, G Carpenter, Cordiner-Achenbach, Flaxman- Taylor, Freeman, Galer, Grant, Green, D Hammond, Jeal, Lawn, Martin, McMullen, McCluskey, Mogford, Murray-Smith, Newcombe, Pilkington, Plant, Robinson-Payne, Rundle, Sharp, Smith, Stenhouse, Thompson, Upton, Wainwright, Wells, Williamson, A Wright & B Wright.

 

Also in attendance :-

Ms S Oxtoby (Chief Executive Officer), Ms C Whatling (Monitoring Officer), Mrs P Boyce (Executive Director, People) Ms K Sly (Executive Director, Resources) Mrs N Hayes (Executive Director, Place), Mr S Hubbard (Head of Planning and Growth) Mr N Fountain (Strategic Planning Manager) and Mrs S Wintle (Corporate Services Manager).

 

 

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