Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn PE30 5DQ. View directions
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Apologies for absence To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Beales and Colwell. |
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To approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Minutes: RESOLVED: The Minutes from the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair. |
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Declarations of interest 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.
Those declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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Urgent Business To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chair proposed to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972. Minutes: There was none. |
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Members Present Pursuant to Standing Order 34 Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chair of their intention to do so and what items they wish to be heard before a decision on that item is taken.
Minutes: Councillors Joyce and Parish were present under Standing Order 34. |
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Chair's Correspondence If any. Minutes: There was none. |
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Cabinet Report - Changes to Social Housing Allocations Policy
Recommendation: The Panel are requested to consider the report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet or indicate their support for the Cabinet Recommendations.
Cabinet Resolves:
To recommend that the revised HomeChoice Allocations Policy (with changes as set out in paragraph 1.3) is adopted by Full Council.
Recommendations to Full Council:
To adopt the HomeChoice Allocations Policy.
Additional documents:
Minutes: Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube
The Senior Housing Manager gave a presentation on the report.
The Chair, Councillor Collop thanked the Senior Housing Manager for the presentation and invited questions and comments from the Panel as summarised below.
In response to questions and comments from Councillor Kemp, the Senior Housing Manager commented that he agreed families with children on the first floor or above needed priority. He explained that just under 700 people were on a low band and that they anticipated half of those people were adequately housed but advised they would drop down, therefore, those people who were on the first floor or above would still have some priority and would not be competing against those people who were adequately housed. He added that it had been a difficult recommendation to make. In terms of children in care placed outside of Norfolk not necessarily having priority, the Senior Housing Officer advised he would check this with the Housing Needs Manager and come back to Councillor Kemp with a response. The Senior Housing Manager explained that the law was due to change for people that experienced domestic abuse and confirmed they would ensure the policy was revised to reflect the change in law. He added people that experienced domestic abuse would not need to demonstrate local connection order to access social housing.
In response to a further question from Councillor Kemp, the Senior Housing Manager explained that if somebody approached the council fleeing domestic abuse who had full duty owed to them, they would be placed in a high band.
The Portfolio Holder for People and Communities, Councillor Rust commented that the Policy stated the council still provided accommodation to people leaving care and moving out of the area before the age of 16.
Councillor Ratcliffe referred to family carers and sought clarification whether the Policy considered households where there was a grown child caring for an elderly parent as the policy stated couples and the wording around this was not clear. The Senior Housing Manager confirmed he was happy to amend the wording to reflect that and explained each household was treated dependant on its circumstances.
Councillor Ratcliffe asked if there had been any consideration given to an age rule in the Policy which she raised at the last informal meeting of the Homelessness and Housing Delivery Task Group. The Senior Housing Manager confirmed it had been considered and explained the Policy did not exclude people over the age of 60 in bidding for properties but confirmed he was happy to amend the wording in the Policy to reflect that.
Councillor Heneghan commented that the Policy seemed fair and was in support of it. Councillor Heneghan asked what the timescales were for successfully bidding on accommodation, in relation to the different priority bands. The Senior Housing Manager explained it all depended on how people bid and there was no set timescale for each band.
Councillor Bullen sought clarification on the structure of ... view the full minutes text for item EC19: |
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Cabinet Report - Extension of the Processing of Co-Mingled Dry Recyclables Contract Recommendation: The Panel are requested to consider the report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet or indicate their support for the Cabinet Recommendations.
Cabinet Resolves:
Additional documents: Minutes: Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube
The Waste and Recycling Manager summarised the report.
The Chair, Councillor Collop thanked the Waste and Recycling Manager for the report and invited questions and comments from the Panel as summarised below.
Councillor Heneghan commented that it made sense to extend the contract to 2030 and added that consistency in our recycling was important.
RESOLVED: The Environment and Community Panel supported the following recommendation to Cabinet:
Cabinet resolves:
1. The extension of the Processing of Co-mingled Dry Recyclables contract (the Contract) with NEWS Ltd through to 30th September 2030 on its current terms is agreed. 2. Extending the scope of the services provided by NEWS Ltd to under the Contract from the year 2026/7 to comply with the change in law introducing Simpler Recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility requirements is agreed conditional on such changes being approved in accordance with the Shareholder Agreement with NEWS Ltd. |
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Work Programme and Forward Decision List The Panel are requested to agree the Work Programme and note the Forward Decision List. Additional documents: Minutes: Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube
Members of the Panel were reminded that if they had any items which they would like to be considered for addition to the Work Programme to complete the appropriate form.
Councillor Kemp referred to the Scrutiny Governance and Arrangements Survey which had been sent round to all Councillors for completion and commented that the Environment and Community Panel should not be abolished as it was an important Panel. The Chair, Councillor Collop confirmed she would follow it up outside of the meeting.
RESOLVED: The Panel’s Work Programme and the Forward Decision List was noted. |
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Date of the next meeting To note that the next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel is scheduled to take place on 2nd September 2025 at 4:30pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall. Minutes: The next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel was scheduled to take place on 2nd September 2025 at 4.30pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn. |