Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and read out the Fire Evacuation Procedure.

To receive any declarations of interest.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 11 September 2024 were submitted.

Councillor Morrish stated that currently the minutes were factually inaccurate at page 9, as they did not reflect that one third of the Councillors walked out of the meeting in disgust at the actions of the Chair of the Council.   It was Councillor Morrish’s view that the Chair had accepted that the motion he presented was to be replaced by Councillor Clynch, who admitted that it was to be a replacement motion and not an amendment.  Councillor Morrish’s opinion was that this was not in compliance with the Constitution rules 4.32.1 b) 1 to 4.  Councillor Morrish acknowledged that whilst the minutes were not required to be a verbatim record, they should reflect the meeting accurately and stated that they should not be used as a tool to re-write history.

ORDERED that:

1.      Councillor Morrish’s comments were NOTED.

2.      the minutes were approved.

There were no announcements or communications for this meeting.

There were no valid questions submitted from members of the public, within the required timescale for this meeting.

Councillor Mason proposed a motion without notice to change the order of business in the agenda of the meeting in accordance with the Constitution paragraph 4.30.1 (c).   The motion was seconded by Councillor Smiles.

On a vote being taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

ORDERED that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 4.57, Council agreed to vary the order of business to deal with the items in the following order: Agenda Item 14, Agenda items 7 to 13, Agenda Items 15 and 16.

Councillor J Ewan, Vice Chair of Council, took the Chair for consideration of Motion No.166.

Motion No. 166

Consideration was given to Motion No. 166 moved by Councillor Mason and seconded by Councillor Coupe of which notice had been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rules No. 53-60 as follows:

Motion of No Confidence in the Chair of Middlesbrough Council

This Council expresses its deep concern and dissatisfaction with the manner in which full council meetings have been conducted under the current Chair's leadership.

We believe that effective governance and robust democratic processes are paramount for the success of our council and the well-being of our constituents. Unfortunately, recent practices under the Chair's guidance have fallen short of these expectations. In particular, we are deeply troubled by the Chair's refusal to allow supplementary questions during full council meetings.  Supplementary questions are a vital component of our democratic process. They allow elected members to seek necessary clarifications, challenge responses, and ensure accountability. By denying members the opportunity to ask supplementary questions, the Chair is effectively stifling debate, limiting transparency, and undermining the ability of this council to serve our community effectively.

This approach has created an atmosphere where crucial issues cannot be thoroughly examined, and where members are unable to adequately represent the concerns of their constituents. Such practices are unacceptable and do not align with the principles of open and accountable governance that this council should uphold.

Given the ongoing issues with the conduct of full council meetings and the lack of faith we have in the Chair to change their approach to full Council meetings, we hereby submit this motion of no confidence in the Chair of Middlesbrough Council, Councillor Julia Rostron.

This Council therefore resolves to:

1) Express its disapproval of the manner in which recent Council meetings have been held.

2) Call on Cllr Julia Rostron to resign from the position of Chair of the Council with immediate effect.

Councillor Coupe reserved his right to speak to the motion.  Councillor Mason spoke in support of the motion.

The Chair invited members to speak to the motion.

Councillors Smiles, Saunders, Livingstone and Coupe spoke in support of the motion.

Councillors Walker and Henman spoke against the motion.  

On a vote being taken the motion was REJECTED.

Councillor Rostron, Chair of Council, in the Chair.

Motion No. 167

Consideration was given to Motion No. 167 moved by Councillor Walker and seconded by Councillor L Young of which notice had been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rules No. 53-60 as follows:

Motion to commend the work Middlesbrough Council is doing to enrol more eligible pensioners onto Pension Credit, to resolve to prioritise the use of the Household Support Fund to help pensioners on low incomes or liable to higher heating bills due to disability, who will lose the Winter Fuel Payment and therefore could struggle to pay their bills, to resolve to continue and enhance the council’s awareness campaign and to call on HM Treasury to reform the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/53

The Mayor proposed a motion without notice to change the order of business in the agenda of the meeting in accordance with the Constitution paragraph 4.30.1 (c).   The motion was seconded by Councillor Clynch.

On a vote being taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

ORDERED that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 4.57, Council agreed to vary the order of business to deal with the items in the following order: Agenda Items 12, 7 to 11, 13, 15 and 16.

A joint report of the Mayor and Chair of the Improvement Board was presented for information.

The Mayor announced with great sadness the news of the recent unexpected passing of Suki Binjal, who had been supporting the Council’s Corporate Governance improvement journey as a member of its Independent Improvement Advisory Board.

The Chair invited all present to stand and observe one minute’s silence, as a mark of respect.

The Chair of the Improvement Board noted that this was the fourth report of Middlesbrough’s Independent Improvement Advisory Board (MIIAB).  A detailed update was provided which included: activity since the last update to Council, cultural and governance issues, financial sustainability and the transition to a business as usual environment.

Whilst progress had been made, significant challenges remained, particularly in relation to the current budget.

The MIIAB encouraged the Council to:

•           Continue to embed improvements in Member behaviour and conduct.

•           Retain a laser focus on delivering a balanced budget for 2024/25 and using the transformation programme to support this.

•           Begin the process of moving away from an intervention governance model to a business as usual governance model.

•           Be clear about leadership priorities as the council transitioned to permanent officer leadership arrangements.

Members asked questions in relation to improvements in behaviour and conduct, embedding financial resilience and collaboration between the Mayor and the Leadership and Management Team, to which the Chair of the MIIAB responded.

The Chair thanked the Chair of the MIIAB for the comprehensive report.

ORDERED as follows that Council:

1.         expressed condolences following the unexpected passing of Suki Binjal who had been supporting the Council’s Corporate Governance improvement journey as a member of the MIIAB.

2.         noted the report of the MIIAB, which reflected on progress made by the Council on its Corporate Governance improvement journey over the last twelve months.

The Mayor proposed a motion without notice to change the order of business in the agenda of the meeting in accordance with the Constitution paragraph 4.30.1 (c).   The motion was seconded by Councillor Clynch.

On a vote being taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

ORDERED that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 4.57, Council agreed to vary the order of business to deal with the items in the following order: Agenda Items 13 and 16, 7 to 11 and 15.

A joint report of the Chief Executive, Director of Finance and Director of Legal and Governance Services was presented by the Mayor. 

The report set out the key activities and progress since an update was last provided to Council, in response to the Section 24 recommendations made by the Council’s External Auditors and the Council’s Corporate Governance Improvement Plan.   The Mayor highlighted that one hundred percent of activity in relation to the Section 24 delivery plan was on-track or had been

delivered.

For the current reporting period, all workstreams were on target in terms of activity, as per timescales set out in the corporate Governance Improvement Plan, with one action in one workstream being off target, which it was proposed to pause as it could not be progressed. The action was outlined in the report as follows:

•           A milestone in relation to the further development of the Finance Business Partnering model to ensure ownership and accountability of budget managers.  In order to ensure the model aligns with the findings of the two external reports from CIPFA and Grant Thornton, that have been undertaken in relation to financial management and financial standing, this milestone needs to be paused until both those reports are issued in order to ensure that the model addresses any findings within them.

ORDERED as follows that Council:

1.         Noted the progress against the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan and Section 24 Action Plan.

2.         Agreed the change controls outlined in the submitted report at paragraph 6.1 to pause FRR3.18 Further development of the Finance Business Partnering model to ensure ownership and accountability of budget managers, until the Grant Thornton report on the financial management and financial standing of the organisation was received.

Council received a report which sought nominations for appointment, following resignations from Committees and Outside Bodies and vacancies that remained outstanding following the Annual meeting.

The report included a list of current vacancies on various Committees and Outside Bodies and nominations were put forward at the meeting by individual members.

ORDERED that the following vacancies allocated in accordance with the wishes of the political groups, be approved by Council:

Committee Vacancies:

Place Scrutiny Panel

1 vacancy for Vice Chair – Councillor Livingstone appointed.

Corporate Health and Safety Steering Group

Councillor Ryles appointed.

1 vacancy – no nominations.

Outside Bodies Vacancies:

JOINT COMMITTEES AND OUTSIDE BODY APPOINTMENTS BY COUNCIL:

River Tees Port Health Authority

1 vacancy – no nominations.

Middlesbrough-Oberhausen Town Twinning

1 vacancy – Councillor Livingstone appointed.

JOINT COMMITTEE AND OUTSIDE BODY APPOINTMENTS BY EXECUTIVE:

Staying Put Advisory Committee

1 vacancy – Councillor Rostron appointed.

The Mayor informed Council that recruitment was underway for the posts of Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer and thanked the Members of the Chief Officer Appointments Committee in advance for their input and time.

Visits to Middlesbrough were in progress from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Care Quality Commission (CQC) and OFSTED and the Mayor would provide an update at the next Council meeting.

A Housing Recovery Plan would be launched in November with the Council taking on properties with the aim of renting to the most vulnerable.  The Council was keen to take on those properties that were a blight in many areas of the town.  The Council was currently working with Ethical Lettings who had secured funding to purchase or renovate homes.  The Council was  open to working with other providers and there was an opportunity for discussion with social landlords regarding empty properties that could be brought back into use.

The Council was also investing new vehicles including gully suckers and road sweepers to ensure the town could be cleaned more effectively.   It was anticipated that the new vehicles would be available by the end of the year.  Communal bins would also be refreshed.  The Council was working to get back to business as usual, refocus priorities, and make improvements for residents in terms of the town’s environment.

Responding to a question, the Mayor indicated that he would provide an exact date for completion of the work on the housing development at Gresham which was being delivered by Thirteen Group.   Work on road allocation was not yet completed.

A Councillor raised an issue in relation to unadopted roads and the Mayor agreed to follow this up.

The Chair requested that Members note the Mayor’s statement.

ORDERED that the Mayor’s statement was noted.

Question in relation to the Report of the Executive Member for Finance and Governance.

Councillor Saunders in relation to Pension Credit Take-up.

The Executive Member confirmed that in relation to increased government funding for Middlesbrough, the Mayor had made representations to the Government.  Both the Mayor and the Executive would take any opportunity they could to influence the Government.  However it was clear, from prior to the election, that there would not be a great deal of extra funding available for local government.  Through meetings with the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), Middlesbrough and other Councils were seeking a solution that would see a redistribution of the funding available on a fairer basis.  Austerity had both reduced the amount of funding available and the way in which it was redistributed.    Redistributing the funding in a fairer way would better help areas like Middlesbrough who, for example, experienced higher levels of deprivation than other areas.

Question in relation to the Report of the Executive Member for Regeneration.

Councillor Henman in relation to Newbridge Court in Acklam.

The Executive Member confirmed that the units were being let by the Council’s Valuation Services.   The upper level was now fully let but there were still 2 vacant units available within the shopping parade.  Whilst there had been some interest shown, the Council was keen to promote and publicise the vacant units to businesses.  The Executive Member added that this project to regenerate a derelict area demonstrated the Council’s commitment to improving the town.

Question in relation to the Report of the Executive Member for Environment.

Councillor Livingstone in relation to on-going work in Linthorpe Road.

The Executive Member clarified that the Council was continuing to work proactively with the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) regarding the proposed removal of the Linthorpe Road cycle lane.    As the scheme was externally funded by the Department for Transport, Middlesbrough and the TVCA had to work through required mechanisms to facilitate the removal.  Middlesbrough Council was currently awaiting legal and technical information from TVCA before further progress could be made.  Although not directly involved in discussions, it was the Executive Member’s understanding that waiting for information from the TVCA was unfortunately a common theme in the process.

Questions submitted for the Executive Members for Children’s Services and Regeneration would be emailed for a response.

Questions submitted for the Mayor and Executive Member for Community Safety were withdrawn.

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board presented a report, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the current position regarding progress made by the Overview and Scrutiny Board and the individual Scrutiny Panels.

The Chair invited Members to note the report.

ORDERED that the report was noted.

There were no urgent items submitted within the specified deadlines for this meeting.

The Chair invited Councillor Wilson to ask his question as set out at Agenda Item 11 in relation to the Spider Park Play Area in Brambles Farm.

The Mayor explained that as part of a wider decision to be made in December 2024, funding would be allocated for several parks and green areas across the town and Colmore Avenue was a potential site.   The Mayor was keen to have an open discussion with Police in relation to their previous planning objection to ensure that any scheme submitted for planning approval was entirely suitable.   The Mayor confirmed that Ward Councillors would be consulted to ensure the funding was spent in a good way.   Another element of the proposal would be ongoing maintenance to parks and green areas as there was currently no budget and a dedicated pot of funding was required.  In summary, funding would be reallocated in December and a scheme would be delivered at a later date in partnership with Ward Councillors.

The Chair invited Councillor Mason to ask his question as set out at Agenda Item 11 in relation to The Wired Lobby in Captain Cook Square.

ORDERED that, with the Chair’s approval, the question was DEFERRED to the next Council meeting.

There were no Notice of Urgent Motions submitted within the specified deadlines for this meeting.