Agenda and draft minutes

Prayers were led by Rev Canon Ling.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive Mayor’s communications and announcements.

There were no communications.

To receive any items of business which in the opinion of the Mayor are urgent. 

There was no urgent business.

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

The following Notice of Motion  was agreed at full council on 30 January 2025.

“The Council strongly opposes postponement of County Council elections due in May 2025 as people should not be denied their right to vote.

This council agrees to hold an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council on 13 February to debate devolution and local government reorganisation.”

A report provided members with background, context and up to date information on Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Norfolk and Suffolk, including actions and steps taken to date in response to the Government’s English Devolution White Paper, published in December 2024.

The Government had announced on 5^th February 2025 that Norfolk and Suffolk were part of the Devolution Priority Programme and as such, county council elections due in May 2025 had been postponed for one year. The Government had set  a challenging date for initial proposals for LGR of 21^st March 2025, with full business plans to be submitted by 26 September 2025.

Under the Council Procedure Rules, Councillor Beales requested Council to grant him an extension to his ability to speak for more than 5 minutes.  This was agreed. 

Councillor Beales reminded members that this meeting was a debate on Local Government Review and Devolution, rather than a question and answer session. However he confirmed that such a session would be set up in the next week and  again prior to the Council meeting on 19 March.

Councillor Beales, in proposing the recommendations set out in the report, made reference to the importance of engaging fully and constructively in the process to ensure that good relations with colleague authorities were maintained in the working up of proposals for Norfolk.  He noted that Norfolk County would be looking to propose a single unitary, the district councils were working together to come up with a consensus of opinion, although Norwich City Council were also working up a single Norwich city proposal.  He drew attention to the importance of presenting a united front with proposals put to the Minister to make it easy for them to make a decision which would ensure the co-operation of all parties where possible.

Councillor Morley seconded the proposal and reserved the right to speak.

Council debated the issue and the following views were put forward:

·         The Labour Group members generally supported the issue of LGR and Devolution.

·         The not broken so don’t fix it term was used, and the potential loss of a lot of experienced councillors was drawn attention to.

·         Devolution was in the Labour manifesto, and ward members spent time in their wards regardless of size.

·         The progressive Group did not support LGR and large unitary councils or an elected Mayor.

·         The Conservative Group agreed with the principle of Devolution, drew attention to the fact that the County Council delivered services into people’s homes and hoped for the best delivery model for the public of Norfolk, although the data  ...  view the full minutes text for item C:89