Transcript

Right, good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Breckland AGM and Council meeting on 23 May 2024. Welcome, everybody. Julie, could you do the roll call for me, please? Thank you, chairman. Councillor Anscombe? Councillor Ashby? Present. Councillor Askew? Present. Councillor Attiwill? Present. Councillor Bairnbridge? Present. Councillor Baite? Present. Councillor Annie Blackbourn? Present. Councillor David Blackbourn? Yes. Councillor Boryt? Present. Councillor Bose? Yes. Councillor Brindle? Yes. Councillor Marion Chapman-Allen? Yes. Councillor Sam Chapman-Allen? Yes. Councillor Clarke? Present. Councillor Clauson? Councillor Cogman? Yes. Councillor Cowan? Yes. Councillor Crane? Present. Councillor Duffield? Here. Councillor Eagle? Here. Councillor Fraser? Here. Councillor Gilbert? Here. Councillor Harvey? Here. Councillor Hewitt? Here. Councillor Hunter Clark? Here. Councillor Germy? Here. Councillor Cadell? Here. Councillor Ciddle Morris? Here. Councillor Cuyberd? Here. Councillor Land? Here. Councillor Cambridge? Councillor Monument? Here. Councillor Morton? Here. Councillor Nunn? Here. Councillor O'Callaghan? Here. Councillor Oliver? Here. Councillor Plummer? Here. Councillor Richmond? Present. Councillor Sherwood? Here. Councillor Sugget? Present. Councillor Samantha Taylor? Here. Councillor Sarah Taylor? Here. Councillor Taylor Taylor? Here. Councillor Terry? Here. Councillor Turner? Here. Councillor Webb? Here. Councillor Wickelson? Here. Councillor Wilkin? Here. And Councillor Wilkinson? Here. Thank you very much, Julie, for that. And before, ladies and gentlemen, before I go on to the agenda, obviously I've got a few things to say, and we have the presentations to my charities. But I'd like to say, yeah, thank you. I would like to say, first of all, congratulations to Brecklin Councillors being elected to serve in their towns. Councillor Chris Harvey, Thetford, congratulations. And our very own Councillor Taylor Taylor. I've been informed that Councillor Taylor is the youngest Mayor to serve Attleborough. And congratulations to Tricia Naspi for being voted in as the Deputy Mayor of Attleborough. And I would like to congratulate and welcome to the Council, Councillor Robin Hunter-Clark, who gained the Hermitage Awards from the Liberal Democrats at recent by-election. So yes, thank you very much. Well done. As you know, obviously, it's my last, that's the end of my term as Chairman for the year. And I can say I was very proud to have been your Chairman this last year, and especially in our Council's 50th anniversary year. It's even made it more special. I've met many special people, not just in Norfolk. On several occasions, I traveled to Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Lincolnshire. Met other civic leaders, town mayors, dignitaries, military leaders, the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, Lady Danette, and her deputies. And most importantly, I met our Brecklin residents. Last July, it was an honor to be invited to the Desert Rats Memorial Service and Parade to meet military veterans, true heroes, and to be asked to take the salute and inspect the Joint Air Cadets on Parade was an unforgettable occasion. I was invited again this year to the rededication of Order 2, which is the memorial tank on its plinth at IASH. It was the 80th anniversary of the 7th Armored Division's leaving IASH in Brecklin for Normandy in 1944. This was the last ever Desert Rats Brigade Memorial Service Parade at IASH. Meeting our Brecklin residents has been a privilege too. I recently went to the Buckingham House care home in Wotton and met some of our residents there. I wanted to make sure they weren't forgotten. I met a gentleman who had worked for Norfolk County Council for 30 years and a lovely Polish lady who actually wanted to speak to me. She couldn't speak English, but the carer had an app on her phone and translated everything, so it was brilliant having a conversation with a lady who suffered quite a lot in the earlier years in conflicts in Poland. There was one gentleman I spoke to as well. He was a postman from London and part of his round was Buckingham Palace. He did say to me if I wanted a job, he would recommend me. He used to go around on a horse. He said I could go around on a horse, but I didn't have to. I did tell him I was longing for riding horses and I appreciate his kind offer. I presented 62 Chairman's Recognition Awards to residents across Brecklin who go above and beyond to volunteer in their communities, unsung heroes who support and make a big difference for residents they live alongside. I hosted Clive Metcalf, founder member of the iconic rock group Pink Floyd, originally known as Stigma 6. He was the designer and maker of this Brecklin chain I have been so proud to wear. It is valued now at around £50,000. I have received many emails, letters and cards from civic leaders commending me on my term of office and my unforgettable civic reception, which I think tells me I have successfully represented you all, the Brecklin Council. I could not have carried out these duties alongside my normal busy ward work and committees without support. I have been a demanding Chairman, I know that, but that's our role as a Councillor for my residents. Our CEO, Max, must have known this as she put a team together to look after me. Joe, the leaders PA and the Democratic team, Theresa, Julie, Ruth and Finley. Finley is a Democratic services apprentice. Finley is a very competent young man who has taken the lead looking after me this last few months. He brought together all my Recognition Award engagements, which is not easy, bringing people together and ward members. As an award winning advocate of young people, champion young people in Norfolk, I don't know if you know that, but I'll just pull it out there again. I did have an award this year. Champion young people for two decades and a supporter of apprenticeships, I hope to see Fin as a full-time member of Team Brecklin. I would like to thank members, officers who have supported my functions, members and officers who joined me on the Gnar Valley Walk on my memorable day, which raised £500 plus gift aid, which will be reflected in the cheque given to the Lichem Hospice today. I would like to thank the comms team, particularly Nathan Flatman, who has moved on to pastures new. He was like my own personal public relations officer, even though he was a busy comms officer. Thank you all. I've had a lot of support, which I really, really appreciate, making my year as Chairman a very, very successful year. I am just sad that my term of office is coming to an end. Being the first resident of Brecklin, and I was led to believe the most powerful man in Brecklin Council. I'll leave that to you guys. It's come to an end. I'm very sad. I just wish my successor all the very best. Just enjoy the ride. Thank you, Team Brecklin. Before I go on to hand my cheques to my representative from the charities, I'd like to show my appreciation to my team I mentioned earlier, and I would like them to come up and receive a little gift that I've put together for them. Sarah. Finlay, can you come up, please? Thank you. Teresa. Thank you. Thanks for everything you do, Corby. You do well. Anyway. Thank you. Thanks very much. Julie. Can't forget you. Can't you do anyway? You do a brilliant job. Thank you. Joanne. Is she not in the room? Okay. We'll give that later, then. Ruth. Ruth. Oh, there you go. Thanks for all you do, Ruth, in organizing things here. Thank you. The leader, Sam. Thank you. And Maxine. Thank you for your support. No, it's really good. Thank you. I will now present the cheques, and I'd like to call up Adrian Adcock from the Swartham and Licham Hospice, and followed by Lee Hart and Sarah from SANS. This check for 2,831 pounds, 77 P, which is going to the Swartham and Licham Home Hospice, which is a very important organization. And I'm pleased to say as well, Breckland has supported or funded the hospice with funds to hold bereavement sessions, which are very important to people who are left behind as well. And the cheque is higher than the ones for SANS because it includes the walk we did, members and officers did, on the Gnar Valley. So I'd like to give Adrian a round of applause. Yes, you can. Yes. Just a big thank you to Peter and the team at Breckland. For the cheque for 2,800. As an organization, we are partly NHS funded. They provide about a third of what we need to run the organization. It leaves us to find about 100,000 a year, which we do mainly from donations, legacies, our own fundraising, but when something like this comes along, it doesn't always happen. It doesn't happen that often, and thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. And I have a cheque here now for the Norfolk SANS baby bereavement, which is close to my heart. Right from the '90s, I've supported baby loss and things. I've done charity things back in the '90s, early 2000s, and bought incubators, which was very short, back in the day at the QEH hospital. And this is going towards helping a bereavement suite to be productive and active at the QEH hospital. So 2,262 pounds to Sarah and Lee. That's an amazing amount. Thank you so much for choosing us and for supporting some of the fundraising you've done. As Peter said, the money will be going to support the QEH hospital with their bereavement suite and will provide the QEH have told us that they would like us to help support and provide things for the bereavement suite for the families that are using it to make the room and the service less clinical, more home-like, so that the families that go in there where the baby has died, they can spend some time with them and make some memories of it feel like home rather than just a sort of standard delivery room. Things have changed quite a lot in the last 10 years or so. And there wasn't this sort of thing 10 years ago, so if your baby had died, you go give a birth on the general delivery suite with lots of other families taking their kids home, and it's terrible. But having a separate bereavement suite with all the right equipment and coffees, teas, and nice things where you can just make memories of your baby just makes the world a difference and just helps that, helps you survive and get through this terrible thing that has happened to you. So we're so grateful. This is going to make so much difference to the Queen Elizabeth and it's not going to make families happy, but it's going to make it easier and it's going to give them more stuff to help them survive this experience. So thank you so much. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Members, for that. It's very important. That's what it's all about, me being Chairman. I was out there straightaway wanting to do things, and I'd like to thank you all again who attended all my functions for the coffee morning and the quiz night and the walk. Okay, I will go now onto the agenda. Item 1, can I invite nominations for a new Chairman? Thank you, Chairman. Can I please propose Councillor Keith Gilbert as Chairman for the ensuing year for the Bracken District Council? Could I have a seconder for that? Ruth, it was either Roger or... Can I second that proposal, Chairman? Could I also just gently say that I'd like to express a little disappointment that I think for the first time the tradition of the Vice Chair becoming the Chairman seems to have been broken, that longstanding tradition, and it looks as if we won't be nominating Terry Jeremy as Chairman. So I regret that particular position that has been adopted today. I'm sure that will be rectified in the future. Thank you, Chairman. Okay. Is there any other nominations for Chairman? No? Okay. Right. Okay. So I'll go for a... We've had a seconder, so I'll go for a vote for that, please, for Chairman. All in favour? Okay, thank you. Any against? Abstentions? No? Okay, thank you. So Councillor Gilbert is truly elected as the Chairman for 2425. I think somebody's going to have to come and wrestle it off me. I don't really want to give it up. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] Well, I didn't see this coming this time last week, as it came out of the blue. So I'm totally unprepared for this, apart from a 10-minute briefing with Theresa just before the meeting. So I hope you will cut me a little bit of slack, particularly for this meeting. So I will now invite nominations for the new Vice-Chairman. Thank you, Chairman. Can I please propose Councillor Terry Jeremy as Vice-Chairman of Brecon District Council for the ensuing year? Seconder? Thank you. I'd like to second that, please, Chairman. Thank you. Are there any other nominations? If not, then I'll put it to the vote. All those in favour? Okay. I think that is passed quite. Anyone against? Any abstentions? No? That is unanimous, I'm told. Would you like to come up, Terry? Have you ever figured it out? Do you want to sign that now? Congratulations. Thank you. Okay. Now where are we? Where are we now? Right. Number three on the agenda, a vote of thanks to the outgoing Chairman. Anybody wish to say something? Yeah? Councillor Crane? Where has he gone? A huge thanks to Peter. I think we're all very aware of how much he has enjoyed his role and he's been out and about. He's been incredibly busy. I think it's safe to say that if you cut Peter in half like a stick of rock, it would save Brecon through it. So not only does he work very hard for his own ward, he's worked extremely hard raising the profile of Brecon. So thank you very much Peter. Thank you. Councillor Webb? Yes, I'd like to echo what Councillor Crane's just said. Additionally, I'd like to say a big thank you to Peter because he's spent time actually talking to the people who have the hero's recognition, the Chairman's recognition. He had loads of time for them, never rushed them, always turned up whenever there was an event taking place. He could be relied on completely to be an asset to Brecon Council and he should be recognised. Thank you Peter. Councillor Morton? I'd like to say a big thank you to Peter because he's been out and about. He's been out and about 25%. I know with the Quiz civic perception, both of which have been swapped and a lot of money has been raised to make a big difference. [inaudible] Councillor Clark? Thank you, Chairman. I'd like to add my own very small tribute to Peter for his last year as Chairman. It seems he's doing it forever because I know him also on the planning committee. Unfortunately, I only had the pleasure of one actual event that he came to at Meeting Point as Chairman and I was particularly taken by the amount of time that Peter took to go round and talk to all the members of Meeting Point, including one lady who was cheating the magnificent milestone of 100 years old, who was bright as a button. Peter too made time to speak to everybody and I think he's also always, as far as I'm concerned, has a soft spot for Deerems. He said I must go and spend some money in Deerem now, so I hope he can still keep that up despite relinquishing his office and I encourage anyone to spend money in Deerem and help our High Street. And as we're mentioning Deerem, and I know Peter did mention the Mayors, it's also very good that on Deerem Town Council we have a brand new Mayor and Deputy Mayor, both District Councillors, Linda Monument and Ray O'Callaghan, as Peter's very kind enough to mention Mayors. Thank you Peter for all the work you've been doing and keep up your good work and enthusiasm. Thank you. Is there anyone else? No, if you go on to items 4. Apologies. Chairman, could I just, before we move on to the agenda, could I just say how pleased I am to see you actually in the Chair at last. We probably over the years would have probably tried to slide you across the floor but it didn't happen. And a strange quirk of fate. I was looking something up on a Member's page and my name popped up and I, and this was on the 7th of May that I was looking on this site, and it said for me, I was elected on the 7th of May, the very same day I was looking this up, in 1995. And I recall vividly my very first Council meeting and walking into the room and the first person I saw was yourself and how welcoming you were to me as a brand new Councillor. And of course we go back to, well I'm slightly younger than you, only a touch, but I was a teenager in Wotton and we were together in the town for quite a considerable time. And all the time on Council you've always been straightforward and to the point with everyone and always very welcoming and I think you're going to be a breath of fresh air for your full year as Chairman of this Council and I congratulate you, sir. Thank you. Thank you for that. So if you can now go on to apologies Julie if you could. Thank you Chairman. I have apologies from Councillor Bambridge, Councillor Clausen, Councillor Cogman, Councillor McCambridge, Councillor Monument, Councillor O'Callaghan, Councillor Sherwood and Councillor Turner. Are there any others? No? Right, Item 5, the minutes is it your wish that they are signed as a true record? Sorry, I think there was another. Was it? There was another accident. Apologies. Sorry. No, that's OK. So where were we? Is it your wish that the minutes are signed as a true record? So we go on to Declaration of Interest. Has anybody got any declarations of pecuniary interest to declare? No? Good. Chairman's announcements. Yeah, it hasn't given me a lot of time to think about much, but when Sam phoned me up the other night and asked me I did put my thinking cap on for a little bit. First of all, it is a great honour to serve the people of Breckland as your Chairman and to serve this Council. And I will be the Chairman of the Council, not just any part of it. And I hope to, during my year, meet some of the voluntary groups around the District who do such stirring work and are very much sometimes under the radar. So I would ask each and every one of you, if you have a charity or an organisation that does some good work in your area, then I would love to be able to go out, meet them, talk to them and hear about their work and present them with a Certificate of Recognition. So put your thinking caps on for that. I obviously can't go out to everyone because I'd be doing it every day, I think. There's so many around. My charities for the year are not original. They are the Big C and East Anglian Children's Hospice. As you know, I lost my wife to cancer two and a half years ago. We didn't need the support of the Big C, but we managed at home. But also I saw her go down gradually and gradually fading away and I can only imagine what it must be like for parents to see their child going like that. So they are my two charities for the year. I also hoped during the year to organise some fun social events to invite people to, because over the years we'd become less and less together, I felt. And it would be, I mean, in the days when we had committees we gelled a lot more with each other, but now there's people on different sides of this room who have probably never spoken to each other. So I've got one in mind and it's called Disc Golf. I don't know if anybody has heard of it. I am going to be playing it for the first time, I think in two weeks' time, and it's at the Forest Park. So that is one that I'll be organising. I'll keep some of the others secret until then, partly because I don't know what they are. Anyway, I think that's all I need to say for now. What is next? The leaders' announcements. Over to you, Sam. Lovely, thank you very much, Chairman. First of all I want to welcome colleagues to the annual gender meeting of 2024. This meeting gives us the opportunity to look back over the previous years, but to take stock of some of the fantastic things we've achieved together as a district, both council and with our communities. But also to look ahead at some of those challenges we're going to face over the coming years. But before that, Chairman, I'd just like to say my thanks to the outgoing Chairman, Councillor Peter Wilkinson, for his outstanding work over the last year. Being a steward and an ambassador to this council, but more importantly the community of Breckland from north to south to east to west. Championing those local causes and being a real active individual, making sure that there is full participation in our communities and that those individuals are having the light shone on them for the fantastic work they do. Peter, on behalf of everyone who you've met and those who you've communicated with, thank you for your stewardship over the last year. I'd like to also take this opportunity to welcome, as the outgoing Chairman did, the new Councillor Robin Hunter-Clark to the Hermitage Ward at the most recent by-election. And also to our new Police and Crime Commissioner, Councillor Sarah Taylor. Both of you have taken on new roles as ambassadors, but also leaders of place. And I know that your term of office have both only just recently started, but I know that you'll represent the communities of Norfolk and of Hermitage Ward and Breckland to the fullness of your abilities. And you're both welcome here today in those new roles. As Chairman of Breckland and a forward-thinking progressive organisation, we have always been an ambitious council, and I hope some of the areas I'm going to touch on this morning will actually give us the opportunity to reflect back on some of the monumental achievements we have made as a council, regardless of our political background. One of the challenges facing us is around the social housing demand, and that's not just unique to Breckland but across the country. And over the last year, we have really stepped up to deliver those essential services our residents greatly value. But also to acknowledge that recognition, we were delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal to Elm House earlier in 2023. That £1.8 million investment forming part of our change of delivery for how we support those most needed for temporary accommodation who find themselves homeless. That facility offering that wraparound service in the southern part of our district has been life-changing, but that was direct intervention from this council, making those bold steps, in turn moving forward to now become a registered housing provider, something this council had stepped away from. But moving into that space, we were able to shape that agenda around the Prevent to ensure that residents have a home first and then be able to deliver those wraparound services they much need. We were only two paycheques away from all of us from becoming homeless ourselves. Beyond that, we moved into different areas, supporting those individuals coming from Ukraine and Afghanistan, providing that accommodation to ensure that when they're fleeing war and strife, that they know they've always got a home and a community around them and people to care for them. And I'm immensely proud of what this council's done, but more importantly, what our community's done to welcome all of those individuals to our home of Breckland. Moving ahead, though, Chairman, we've done some incredible work through that business support. Over the last four years, our work around business support has ramped up massively, not just from the pandemic, but actually that continued legacy, supporting residents and businesses to thrive at the heart of what we do. And this year has been an opportunity to provide support to businesses across the district in so many different ways, working with our partner to provide those grants to our market towns, to our significant funding for the rural prosperity fund provided by central government around those Breckland communities, and also launching our net zero business support program, allowing the businesses on the ground to decide how they need the support from us as their district council for them to seize the opportunities around decarbonization and for us to deliver that support they need when they need it most. But also beyond that, our work in Swaffham, and working with Historic England, I know that both Jacob has championed that as we move forward along with Judy, to make sure that we've delivered a program of activity which has seen substantial change, that one million pound boost to the Swaffham economy. But that's only the start. That blueprint has now been set, and we continue to work forward to strive to make sure that vision collectively agreed by the people of Swaffham is delivered over the years ahead. Beyond that, though, Chairman, we've seen this council, and in turn our community, recognized for some national and local awards. Most recently, the Local Government Chronicle, the local rag which delivers on behalf of local government, acknowledging Breckland's incredible work and initiative for retaining a workforce which is challenging in these current circumstances, but also as a rural district, led and stewarded by our fantastic Chief Executive Maxino Mahoney. But also moving ahead with our work around Elm House, winning that award for the esteemed public services excellence, and our Norfolk design craftsmanship for the work we've done there. The British Association of Landscape Industries, fantastic work in Deerham, delivering the wonderful Queen Mother's Garden, if you haven't yet been, please make sure you do. But also our continued platinum status by the Royal Society for Protection of Cruelty to Animals for our dog warden service, which exceeds so many others across the country. I'm proud of all these achievements whilst continuing We Protect frontline services, but this shows that we continue to invest in frontline services day in, day out, when other councils sadly aren't. Breckland delivers and District Councils deliver. Inspiring Cunities Program, something which I know all of us are so proud of, that further investment this financial year of 1.3 million, Breckland being that trailblazer and leading the way to deal with health inequalities and vulnerability, making sure that you, as ward members, are front and centre of that program. Since we've started, we've supported over 1,000 survivors of domestic abuse, helped thousands of individuals access affordable food, trained hundreds of individuals across our communities to become mental health champions, supported holistic support to hundreds of residents, and helped thousands through mental health support. All of these programs and activities are something not traditionally done by a District Council, but through our stewardship, our hard work, our fiscal management, delivering frontline services, protecting frontline services, that allows us to continue to deliver the services which so many of our residents need day in, day out. But more importantly, Chairman, and I'm immensely proud that this Council won the LGC Award in 2023 around health and social care for our Inspiring Cunities Program. That's something traditionally looked at by London Boroughs and County Councils, but Breckland won that award nationally when others were looking in to see how we're able to achieve that. And of course, Chairman, the thousands of pounds we're able to deliver across the District for our Grant Funding Program, that corn feed to allow community groups to continue to do the hard work they do day in, day out. And we heard about two of those fantastic charities today through Councillor Wilkinson's stewardship over the last 12 months. And most recently, ensuring that we never forget those individuals who gave the ultimate sacrifice and are always willing to sign on the dotted line and protect country and our public's security. And D-Day this year will be commemorated for its 80th anniversary. And this Council is one of few who's given grants to community groups to ensure we keep history alive and we will never forget the ultimate sacrifice of June 1944 and so many conflicts beyond that. And the final bit, Chairman, around the Thetford long-term plan for towns. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? That members will be aware and it will come of no surprise how proud I am that Government has recognised what Breckland does and how District Councils are those enablers. This £20 million delivered over 10 years by the community of Thetford working in partnership with both the public sector, the private sector and business groups will ensure that £20 million goes a long way to deliver some of those incredible programs of activity the community much needs and the community wants to see take place. And I'm really pleased that all tiers of Government have signed up to that, including the PCC's office. Thank you, Councillor Taylor. Chairman, as I finally wrap up now, I just want to say that actually, Breckland will go from strength to strength, regardless of our political affiliation, but because we have strong, prudent fiscal management. But more importantly, we protect and deliver and continue to deliver frontline services and respond to those needs of our residents, regardless of the challenges and ensuring that we're front and centre to ensure that our economy goes from strength to strength, which allows that prosperity for everyone to get a job, get a better job and get a career. Chairman, I'm very excited to what the next 12 months will look like under your stewardship and I'm happy to take any questions on questions without notice. Thank you. Sorry. Item under 9, questions on notice. The question on notice included response has already been published, so I hope you've all seen that. So if we go on to item 10, questions without notice. Questions are to be directed to the deputy leader, relevant portfolio holder or committee chairman. So if we start with Councillor Clark from your group. Thank you, Chairman. I'll go after Councillor Land, if I may, please. Thank you. Councillor Attwell, next then please. Thank you, Chairman. Could I congratulate you on becoming the Chairman of the Council? Thank you. I know Rita would be very proud of you at the moment and I think the people of Wattern can be justifiably proud to have you as the Chairman of this district. I think you've put two fantastic charities forward, both very dear to my heart for various personal reasons. I don't know whatever disc golf is, but I'll be there for you, Keith. All I would say is Rita would want you to keep the garden up. I know you're going to be a busy chap. If you need me to put some spades in the van and come over and give you a hand, I'll do it. I'd also like to just congratulate Robin Hunter-Clark on his election to the Hermitage Ward and also to Sarah Taylor on her election to the PCC. Well done to both of those. Sam, the news that Thetford is to receive up to £20 million of government funding is very welcome news. However, people in Deereham and Wattern, for example, will be wondering why their towns, which have been starved of investment in their infrastructure and services for years, have been given no such hope for the future. What do these market towns need to do to get the recognition and investment they desperately need? Thanks, Chairman. I am immensely proud that Thetford has been recognised through the data set which Whitehall and other government departments use to look at the requirement for deprivation around those metrics. I think some of that has been through the work this Council has undertaken, both locally and nationally, to raise the previous challenges around the levelling up bids. We've made those every year as they've gone through those programmes for all of our market towns and we've always sadly fell short. I think that we've explained our narrative and Thetford is one of those beneficiaries. That work has to continue and regardless of the outcome of the election on 4 July, the government, whoever they are, needs to understand that actually we need to look at the hyper-local metrics of those localities and those opportunities which funding from government will provide, not around the wider district element. As you've heard me say before, we're too rich to be poor and too poor to be rich, and that's where the metrics sadly fall down. But this £19.6 million will go some way around that. It has to give confidence to all tiers of government, both the town, the district and the county council and the office of the PCC around that wider public sector investment. We've got to make sure the private sector now see that benefit and come in and work in twin-step with us. Around the wider position of all our other four market towns, I'm pleased that this Council made the bold and brave decision to give each town its own plan through the Future Breckland programmes. They were a bottom-up approach, working with community groups, businesses and the voluntary sector led by those. We just hailed the pen and the financial purse strings to help achieve that. That's what I'm going to hold us to account for as a district council, to make sure we're continually moving that forward. You'll see we're going for those wreath-fresh now. And if we see a devolution deal for Norfolk, that £20 million on an annual basis for the next 30 years, I need to make sure that we're shovel-ready with those programmes' activity and that the Norfolk County Council investment and strategy reflects that, and that money is starting to move to all of our five market towns and not those other localities in Norfolk, which I think have benefited more substantially from both Whitehall and possibly other county council funding. Thank you. Councillor LAND? Thank you, Mr Chair, and often my congratulations too. Well done. My question is for Sarah in her role in planning. The very large and controversial plan for the Abbey State in Thetford has now been verified. Both local residents and myself are anxious about the tight timeframe for questions and comments, particularly given the large number of documents that accompany the application. Could you provide, please, some reassurance that there is sufficient officer capacity to deal with any issues arising and anybody wanting to contact them? Thank you. Thank you for your question. Yes, we have been anticipating this for quite some time and it has finally landed. So, Simon Wood and Rebecca Collins from the planning team have been going out to the town council. They have recently been offered to the town council some planning training and some help and advice in general planning matters, but it does help with the wider piece of the town council having a really good understanding, as they will be the main statutory consortee as part of this process. It has been raised before the question around how we can better communicate these types of things with residents, especially those in some of those localities where English isn't the first language. Our team are doing some work with the applicant to try and make sure that there is better applicant presence on the estate, so some of those questions can be asked and can be put forward and explained in real person's terms and not some of those planning terms and the planning lingo, which unfortunately does its effect of life as to how the application has to be and how some of the responses need to be. Anything else along the way which we can do, we will aim to do. We are absolutely aware that this is a big application, it's affecting a lot of people in many ways, and we will be working as proactively as possible with the residents of Thetford and yourselves with this application. Thank you. Thank you for that. Councillor Cai bowed. Thank you Chairman and congratulations on your election. I have a question for the cabinet member for finance with his ARP hat on, and that is to ask what do ARP do in terms of identifying and recovering monies from fraudulent claims. Thank you. Thank you Chairman and it's good to be back in the Chamber after a few weeks' absence. It's good to see everyone here as well and congratulations to those new members in their various hats. It's a good question actually. I took on the finance role some years ago and one of the aspects that we were looking to drive forward within ARP was to really support everyone in the district who does the right thing and pays their council tax and make sure that those who try and defraud the system or wriggle out of their responsibilities are found out. And I'm very pleased to be able to advise members today that since that team was set up in 2015, so it's nine years ago, we've identified and sought recovery from £4.36 million worth of fraud in Breckland alone. Last year, for instance, the full year 23/24, the team at ARP, and bear in mind this is across all the partners, identified just under £4 million worth of fraud in that year alone. And of that, £620,000 was attributable to fraud committed here in Breckland. And I think it's to their credit that they're able to identify those who try to defraud all those honest citizens of Breckland and elsewhere in Norfolk for whom we are responsible. It's very important that everyone who gains the benefit of whatever it is, about £800 of dividend for their council tax that they pay, actually gets a good return. And in order to be able to justify that and demonstrate how we can use that money for the betterment, as you heard through the leaders' announcements earlier, it's important that everyone pays their dues. Not everyone has to pay the full council tax, of course. There are discounts available and those are absolutely justifiable. But for me, I think it's absolutely vital that we continue this work. And I can assure you that under the new stewardship at ARP of Lorraine King, they are taking forward additional measures to not just identify fraud but also get the message out that fraud is the wrong thing to do, that there are ways that people who find it difficult, perhaps, to afford to pay their council tax can actually plug into those benefits that are available. So I'm looking forward to seeing, I hope, a reduction in the amount of fraud that is carried out. But rest assured, this council will do what it can to ensure those who do try to buck the system are brought to book. Thank you very much. Thank you, Chair. Follow-up, please, to Councillor Cohen. That was interesting but not terribly illuminating. Could you just spend a couple of minutes giving us some examples about what this fraudulent activity looks like in practical terms? Thanks. I certainly can. The most significant aspect of fraud that's committed are those who are not entitled to single-person discounting properties. That accounts for the vast majority of the fraud that's identified and the team are able to use all the tools at their disposal to enable them to identify where single-person fraud is carried out. It is quite remarkable the levels to which people will go to avoid paying their council tax and their dues. There are various other aspects that I haven't got the detail on but I can certainly get them to you. But as I say, the vast majority is all down to single-person discount fraud. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. And again, congratulations on your appointment. My question – I have two, actually, back-to-back, starting with Councillor Helen Crane and then going on to Alison Webb. So for Councillor Helen Crane, last week you very kindly worked with our officers and partners at SERCO to provide some additional litter-picking equipment, which was gratefully received and used for the first time on Sunday. While we were doing the handover, the gentleman from SERCO commented that they were coordinating some litter-picking on the main roads, clearing our district. I didn't know if you could provide an update on that. If you can't, then I apologise for putting you on the spot. My second part of my question – you've only allowed one question. Oh, that's disappointing. Well, I'll keep this to Helen then. Helen, we did our litter-pick on Sunday. Could you please work with Councillor Webb to ensure that we can get a promotion in our comms on the work that's been undertaken? Thank you very much. Can you just say about litter-picking over a certain piece of road? Can you let me know which road that is? I didn't quite pick it up. Yeah, so the gentleman from SERCO said they were coordinating litter-picking pretty much from Attleborough to Thetford along the main road. I just wondered if there was any information on timescales when that might be expected to be complete. At the moment, it's getting quite a bit of attention, so I think that would be something that's really well received. Thank you. Thank you for that. Councillor Samantha Taylor, did you have your hand up? I did. Congratulations also. My question – I'm going to put it to Councillor Ashby, however I feel Councillor Hewitt might be able to answer it better. Sorry, Tristan. Sorry, Tristan. I'm hoping you're all aware Attleborough actually has an amazing Pride event annually that is growing year on year. Ours is later on in the year, but I would like to know, if any, what ambitions and what activities we have for Pride Month next month. Wishing to give you as much of a positive answer and expansive answer as possible. I'm going to hand that over to Councillor Hewitt. And I will endeavour to answer it better than my colleague has done. Of all of the things that I'm responsible for within Breckland, I think without doubt Pride and the work that Pride does as part of our Breckland Cares initiative, not only for our businesses but for our residents, but equally for our employees is absolutely critical. Our work in Pride, and next month you rightly say, is Pride Month for Breckland. Our work in Pride focuses on making sure there is a warm and inclusive workplace where everyone can feel welcomed, regardless of age, sex, race, gender or identity. At Breckland we seek to be an exemplar for all of the employers within our district to ensure that this is a place where people want to come and work and where they can thrive. Some of the work we're doing internally involves flags, walks, interactive activities and podcasts. Externally we're linking into other organisations around the district. And you raise one thing which I'm pleased about. A bit like a dog not just being for Christmas, I don't believe that Pride should just be for June. We will be running a series of events including linking with other councils throughout the course of this year. My only slight frustration is that perhaps, particularly over the June period, some members might feel constrained by purder whereby they won't be able to talk so positively about what we're doing within Pride. But I'm hoping now is an opportunity where we can all share the delight, the ambition and the focus for Pride that allows our businesses, our residents and our employees to thrive. Thank you for the question. Thank you. So we'll go back to Councillor Clark. Thank you Chairman and congratulations again. It's in my tenth year as a Councillor here so I'm still learning the roads but it's great to see that the Council Chairman is in such great safe hands. Thank you. My question is directed to I think Tristan Ashby. In Norfolk, in Breckland, Breckland now has the second highest number of food parcels given out in the county according to the latest report from the Trussell Trust. Locally, I understand that demand is starting to outstrip supply and there might have to be a limit on referrals. What is the Council doing to address the underlying causes of food poverty? Thank you. Thank you very much Councillor Clark and congratulations to Councillor Gilbert on being appointed Chair. Thank you very much for your question. I've not seen that particular piece of evidence so if you could forward it I'd be very grateful. As you're aware, Breckland is no different to other parts of the country in terms of the situation of needing food banks etc. We have put as part of the Inspiring Communities program the food bus in place for the original three years. That will be coming back on stream hopefully sometime in June. A revamped version of the food bus, an improved version of the food bus that will not just tackle the immediate issue of food but also the reasons for the requirement to visit a food bank or food bus etc. We've also supported various community fridges in the district as you also well know in Deere and Swaffen, Thetford and we've also now got the Kindness Cabin in Attleborough. So we are certainly aware of the need and we're certainly trying to provide some response to the demand of that need. Thank you very much. Thank you for that. Councillor Atterwell. Thank you Chair. My second question is to Councillor Suggart. I'm concerned to see that we seem to be experiencing an increase in the turnover of staff in the Planning Department. Both the private and public sector seem to be offering more attractive remuneration packages for planning staff. As we approach the deadline for the transfer of staff employment from Capita to Breckland Council, can you please tell me what work has been carried out so far to review staff pay levels and ensure that we as a Council will offer competitive rates in an effort to retain qualified and experienced staff? Thank you for your question. With regards to the deadline with the contract coming back in house, this piece of work has been going on for several months. It's been a long time in the making and we are drawing closer to that deadline and we have got restrictions around what we can do to certain individuals and their pay because of the situation of the contract coming in house and the rules around 2p. The staff are all offered support and help and guidance with where they sit as individuals around that process, which has been greatly received and everyone is very thankful for. Unfortunately, rates of pay that either other local authorities or private individuals can offer isn't always something which is the best for the public purse to be up in that so that we can retain that level. Once the handover has happened, the change has happened and we will have the staff back in place and that 2p process rules are adhered to, we'll be able to have a more general overview, a general look at the planning department and all of the different constraints as to what the planning department are having to adhere to at the moment. We've obviously got the local plan going on, changes in ecology, biodiversity net gains and all of whereabouts those bums on seats are sitting so we can make sure that we have got the right people in the right service doing the right jobs at the right level of pay in which all of the planning staff will be part of that process so I'm really comfortable and confident that we're doing as much as what we can to support the staff through this process at this moment in time. Thank you. Councillor Attleworth. Okay, the third question is for Councillor Hewitt. Back to Breckland Bridge at Colkirk, at both the February and March council meetings I asked about the future of the Breckland Bridge project in that village as a result of the main contractor ceasing to trade. You kindly provided a written response after the February meeting advising that a new contract will be appointed before the end of March. At the March meeting you advised that this had not yet happened but were hopeful that a new contractor would be appointed imminently. Can you please confirm if this has happened now and when are they expected to start on site? I'll be brief. The answer is I can't confirm that because it hasn't happened yet and I will be candid with you. A number of things are taking place both around that site and on National Picture. Once we are clear in terms of what the absolute ambition for that site will be I can get back to you. But you will know as a businessman the world of business sometimes moves very quickly and sometimes it moves slower than you would like. I'm keen to make sure that that site in particular has certainty around it whoever the final contractor will be but we've got to get it right. Thank you. Councillor Jeremy. Thank you Chairman and can I start by offering you my congratulations. I'm genuinely delighted for you personally and I look forward to your year ahead and supporting you and working with you. I've got a question on housing and I'll direct it at the leader if I may and you can share as you see fit. Sam I've been reading the Financial Times recently. Shocked I know. Primarily because there's some really interesting graphics in there. Whoever is doing their graphics at the moment is doing a brilliant job. And they really capture the sort of state of the country at the moment in those graphics. And the one that struck me most recently was a chart showing how the UK has by far the highest rate of homelessness in the developed world and it's rapidly increasing. Recently in the last week or so we've had some incidents of street homelessness in Fethford which is historically not something that we've had. But there's been homeless individuals in Fethford town centre. Could you give me an overview please of how the council's housing and homelessness service is performing and some reassurance that it's keeping up with the evident demand out there. Thanks Terry for your question. I was with the minister yesterday talking about housing and homelessness and both of us referenced the FT's article over the weekend at the start of the week. I was also out with our homeless team on Tuesday visiting some of those individuals in the community of Fethford. As a district we have higher figures than we've probably seen and those numbers sadly are not falling since the pandemic. We did a Herculean effort through the Everyone In programme for those two years. But we're now at a point where we're sitting in triple figures, low triple figures on a daily basis. I think there are four elements to that. There are those individuals who as we mentioned in my opening remarks are sadly fleeing domestic abuse and violence. And are presenting themselves either once they come into contact with us or some of the services we support through the DAISY programme and Leeway and others in a work out that actually the district council is able to provide safe secure accommodation and allow them to begin to rebuild their lives. Second are those sadly who have found themselves in a financial pickle and as I said earlier all of us are only two pay cheques away from sadly finding ourselves in those circumstances as well. And thirdly are a lack of homes coming forward and I know that Councillor Attwell has asked me several times along of yourself around nutrient neutrality and the challenge that is across this county where we've got over 10,000 homes stalled. Those 10,000 homes are greatly needed for our residents and Breckland is no different. As a council we've invested millions of pounds in temporary accommodation, we've become a registered housing provider, something we haven't done for nearly two decades. We are moving into a space we haven't traditionally moved and operated in. That's given some real certainty, that's reduced our revenue costs on temporary accommodation from bed and breakfasts and hotels and allowed us to deliver a better service for those individuals who find themselves in hardship. Beyond that though, coming back to Councillor Ashby's comments around the requirement for food, actually we moved in areas around money debt advice, those individuals allowing that operation and intervention earlier on. Not necessarily from Councillor Cowan's position around revs and bends but actually independencies around the citizens advice are really well regarded and recognised intervention around that revs and bends position. Are we going to see that change overnight? No, this is going to be a long-term challenge but through the fantastic work which Claire Bowser has done with redesigning and working with the housing providers and the private sector to work out what are the housing challenges and how do we overcome them together. Rather than us telling them, them helping us find those solutions, we've seen that change in our housing strategy and our housing policies which are now allowing us to have and hold in reserve some of those units for a longer period of time, not a void rate but a longer period of time to move those individuals into. We've now changed our position and given certainty to those 1400 on our housing waiting list that actually if you don't accept your second property, are you really in need and really in demand? And therefore we need to make sure we ask the right questions earlier on to them to provide out what is their actual circumstances of need. So I'm hopeful that over the next 12 to 14 months we will see stability, if not a reduction in those figures moving forward, but across the country we invest billions of pounds in temporary accommodation and housing, more so than others within the western world and particularly our European colleagues. We haven't got something quite right and I think as we move forward we need to work collectively with central government, it's not all around revenue, it will move into a capital position where we need to make sure we're providing that temporary accommodation for those to be able to rebuild their lives and then give that home earlier on. I hope that was a force and response to your question. Thank you, we've got five minutes or just under left, so Councillor Sarah Taylor. Thank you, Chair and I realise in my enthusiasm to ask the question about fraud, I got a bit ahead of myself and I failed to offer you my congratulations, so apologies, Chair, I'm really looking forward to working with you over the year ahead. So I'd just like to very quickly pull a few things together in my question to the leader, please. So Sam, you said now twice this morning that we're all two paychecks away from being homeless, but actually for many people we know in dear room, thanks to Christians Against Poverty this week, a lot of people are an awful lot closer to that, so with the average household debt in dear room being £12,000. Now, Councillor Cowan, your information about benefit fraud was interesting, I think rough estimate of council tax in dear room, we're looking at perhaps close to £600 a year, we know there's underlying reasons for this. Councillor Clark asked Councillor Ashby earlier about what the council is doing to address the underlying causes of the need to use the food bank, so my question is in a similar vein, what is the council doing to address those underlying causes of debt and the requirement to use food banks, really around economic development and the cost of living crisis in general. We've got three minutes. I will try and make it quick, Chairman, thank you, and apologies if our responses weren't over clear. I think there are probably three or four rationales behind that, one is around the wider social security system and the changes required from that from the Department of Work and Pensions provision. We lobby on that as a council, we've got a good work relationship with our regional manager and our two local branches for that, but we need to make sure there's some certainty around that. The flexibility we have for our Rebs and Bends position, you've seen before for our Rebs and Bends policy, where those individuals who have changing circumstances on a monthly basis no longer find that their housing benefit change on a monthly basis. We are able to accrue that over a longer period of time and then allow that as a smoothing exercise to give those individuals certainty. The next is around money and debt advice, and this council is the only council in Norfolk to invest in money, debt, advice officers who work for the Sydenham Advice Bureau located on a daily basis in our Thetford and our Deereham office. Something which we need to make sure we continue to do, that arm's length ability where they can hold us as a council to account for our Rebs and Bends service. Beyond that, though, we have Rebs and Bends officers who are trained in money, debt, advice and able to support that financial plan for those individuals, particularly around the private sector, the private rental market, who may not necessarily be in receipt of housing support, but actually need some of that certainty around that. Beyond that is around that mental health position. We have a big commitment around our inspiring communities, but we need to ensure that that's a trauma-informed support service, and that's what we do through working in partners, not just with the public health, but also those voluntary sectors, Yana and others, delivering community health, mental health champions across the district, mindful towns where we're raising awareness and able to offer that signposting as well. Beyond that is around affordable housing and an inclusive community. Back in response to Councillor Jeremy's question, we are not building enough homes in Breckland and in the country to meet our demands. We're going some way, but as you heard earlier, we're stored at 10,000 in Breckland alone. There are others I'm happy to meet with you and others to talk about it in more detail. We're going some way, and I think that we're seeing those strides and changes across Breckland and the County of Norfolk, but we've got more work to do. Thank you for that. Right, shall we move on to item 11, which is minutes of cabinet committees. Now it says on here for information only, but it does not actually concur completely with our standing orders. When I was asked if I would do this job, I went through standing orders a bit, and I remember the days when committee reports were gone through page by page. Questions were asked, and it did go on a lot sometimes, but also it produced good debates. However, when I came looking through standing orders, apart from a procedural standing orders number 5J, it reads, and I printed this off yesterday, to receive reports from the cabinet and minutes of reports from the Council's committees and panels. A member of the Council may ask the leader, cabinet member or chairman of a committee or panel any question without notice about the content of the report or reports or any question on the accuracy of the minutes when under consideration by the Council. So when we go through these reports, if there are any questions you may ask, but make sure it is a question relevant to the issue. We don't want questions vaguely outside, so if we can start with the cabinet on pages 23 to 27. Are there any questions from anybody on those? Or do we accept those minutes? All agree? Overview and scrutiny commission from the 14th of March, pages 28 to 36. Are there any questions from anybody? No. Do you accept these minutes? General purposes committee, 21st of March, pages 37 to 42. Are there any questions? No. Do we accept these minutes? Licensing committee, 20th of March, pages 43 to 46. Are there any questions? Do we accept these minutes? Committee of the licensing authority, pages 47 to 49. Are there any questions? Do we accept these minutes? Noted. Planning committee, the 9th of April, pages 50 to 54. Are there any questions? No. Accept these minutes? The planning committee of the 7th of May, pages 55 to 56. Are there any questions? No. Right. We accept these minutes. I'm sure at the next meeting you will all have questions. If you go on to item 12, the annual appointment of committees, chairman and vice-chairman, I think here I hand over to you, Rob. Thank you, chairman. In accordance with the constitution, the council is required to make its appointments as AGM to its committees. Likewise, it's required to make its appointment to the roles of chairman and vice-chairman in each of those committees. As you'll have seen in the report, all the recommended appointments are detailed in the appendices. It should be noted that the recommended cessation of the shared memorandum of agreement committee, which is a legacy from our arrangement with South Holland, reduces the total number of seats available to 73. Also, the recent changes in political affiliation and the results of the recent by-election also change the balance, the political balances, is detailed in the body of the report. Before I move to the recommendations, chairman, I'd ask each group leader if they have any changes to the chairman, vice-chairman or committee seats, taking account of the vacancies in the report that they would like to draw our attention to. Thank you. Thank you. Over to you, Sam. Have you got any changes? I defer to Councillor Suggitt, please, chairman. Thank you. We've got changes on the licensing committee where we have got Councillor Samantha Taylor as vice-chair and the addition of Councillor Robin Hunter-Clark. And on overview and scrutiny, we have got Councillor Richard Duffield stepping down as substitute and his replacement will be Councillor Robin Hunter-Clark. And also on planning, we have got Councillor William Richmond stepping down as substitute and he will be replaced by Councillor Mark Kiddle-Morris and his replacement on the actual committee will be replaced by Councillor Clare Bowles. Thank you. Thank you for that. Councillor Clark. Thank you, chairman. On the general purposes committee, it's the only one we have a change, which is Councillor Sarah Taylor stepping down on general purposes and replaced by Councillor Ray O'Callaghan. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Atterwell. Thank you, chairman. Yes, just a couple of changes. The appointments and disciplinary appeals committee, I will be representing the independent green group on that and substitute for that will be your good self. And also there is a change on the licensing committee where we will be removing yourself and replacing you with Councillor Tina Cadell. Thank you. Thank you. Any other nominations changes? No. Right. Thank you. What's this? Any questions? Yes, back to you then, Rob. Please read the recommendations. Thank you, chairman. So subject to those changes that have been notified, the recommendations are as follows. That Councillor points for 2024/2025, the committee and panels are set out in Appendix A. Let the shared memorandum of agreement committee be removed. That where so indicated on the appendix, the Councillor points the chairman, vice chairman and Councillors of those committees and panels subject to the changes that have been notified by the group leaders. Could I have a proposer and seconder for these recommendations? Proposer? Yes, Councillor Borat. Seconder? Councillor Atterwell. All those in favour? Yes. Anyone against? There's two over there against. Any abstentions? No. So I think that was unanimous, was it? Right. Thank you. These recommendations have been approved. So item 13, representatives on outside bodies, pages 64 to 70. Back to you, I think, Rob. Thank you, chairman. In a similar vein to the previous report, as this is the annual general meeting, we need to make our appointments to the 30-odd organisations that we have outside body representation on. All the recommended appointments are detailed again in the appendices to the report. Again, before moving to the recommendation, I would ask the deputy leader and leaders of the other political groups whether they've got any changes that they'd like to propose. Thank you, chair. Over to you. Thank you. We do have a couple of changes on this as well, I'm afraid. The A47 alliance, they have changed some of their requirements and only need one substitute. So the substitute we are naming for that body is Councillor Phil Cowan. The Breckland Area Museums Committee, Councillor Richard Duffield is stepping down in his role on that and will be replaced by Councillor Clare Bowles. The Norfolk Countrywide Community Safety Partnership Scrutiny sub-panel has changed its terms of reference and requires the members to be the same as what is on the Norfolk Police and Crime Panel. And on the Norfolk Police and Crime Panel, we have Councillor Tristan Ashby and Councillor Alison Webber's sub. So we will therefore be replacing Councillor Helen Crane to Councillor Alison Webb on that outside body. And I would also like to add the Thetford Town Board to the outside body list for the reasons which were set out in the leaders' comments earlier on. And our representative on that board is Councillor Sam Chapman-Allen. Thank you. It's not me, Chairman. It's the Chairman. I think it's a congratulatory phone call. I thought I'd turned that off. This is the first time I've brought this into a meeting because I always leave it in the car in case it does go off. Choose leadership, Chairman, and you're in. Yeah, already, yeah. Councillor Suckett has still got some more. Right, Councillor Sucky, sorry. No, apologies. I've got one more. So we've got the Supporting People Commissioning Body Member Champions Group is no longer in existence. So we just ask for that body to be removed from the list. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Clark, have you got anything? No. Councillor Attiwell, no? Right. So I could have a proposer and seconder to the recommendations on page 64 of the Agenda Pack proposed by Councillor Webb, seconded by Councillor Crain. All those in favour? Anyone against? Any abstentions? Yeah, Councillor Taylor, who stayed on that. So thank you. The recommendation has been approved. Right, number 14, amendments to the constitution, if any. I haven't got any. And number 15, any other items which the Chairman declares are urgent. I have nothing. And no other - blah, blah, blah. Right. This is all new to me. Before I close the meeting, I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to watch this meeting via YouTube. And to remind members that at 12.30 we are back in here for a briefing on the Local Plan. OK. With that, the meeting is closed. Do I have a gavel?