Agenda and minutes

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:

No exempt items have been identified on this agenda.

Members were advised that legal advice may be sought which warranted the exclusion of the press and public under Access to Information Procedure Rule

10.4 (5), ‘Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege

could be maintained in legal proceedings’. (Minute No. 33 refers)

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during

the consideration of legal advice in accordance with Access to Information

Procedure Rule 10.4 (5) ‘Information in respect of which a claim to legal

professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings’.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

In accordance with his powers under Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local

Government Act 1972, the Chair agreed to accept the following supplementary information:

·  Proposal to remove the subsidisation of allotment services – an extract of the agreed observations and recommendations of the Scrutiny Board in relation to the 2013/14 initial budget proposals of the Environment and Neighbourhoods directorate (Minute no. 33 refers).

·  Allotment Consultation Timeline Information Pack from the Environment and Housing directorate (Minute no. 33 refers).

The above documents were not available at the time of agenda despatch, but were subsequently made available on the Council’s website.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared to the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor P Davey, with Councillor

J Akhtar in attendance; Councillor R Grahame, with Councillor J Hardy in attendance; and Councillor M Harland, with Councillor M Rafique in attendance as substitutes.

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development advising the Scrutiny Board on the procedural aspects of Calling In the decision.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report in relation to the procedural aspects of the call in process.

The Board noted the call in arrangements in accordance with the Council’s constitution and that the options available to the Board were: to release the decision for implementation; or to recommend that the decision be reconsidered.

RESOLVED – That the report outlining the call in procedures be noted.

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presenting background papers to an Executive Board decision which has been called in in accordance with the Council’s Constitution in relation to the future management and pricing arrangements for allotments.

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presented the background papers to a decision which had been Called In in accordance with the Council’s constitution. The decision was an Executive Board decision on the future management and pricing arrangements for allotments.

The Chair welcomed the following representatives to the meeting:

-  Councillor R Downes, Signatory to the Call-in

-  Councillor A Blackburn, Signatory to the Call-in and Scrutiny Board Member (Safer and Stronger Communities)

-  Ian Wood, Chair of the Leeds and District Allotment Gardeners Federation

-  Councillor M Dobson, Executive Board Member for Environment

-  Sean Flesher, Chief Officer Parks and Countryside

-  Leonie Wallace, Principal Legal Adviser

The following supplementary information was submitted to the Scrutiny Board:

-  Proposal to remove the subsidisation of allotment services – an extract of the agreed observations and recommendations of the Scrutiny Board in relation to the 2013/14 initial budget proposals of the Environment and Neighbourhoods directorate

-  Allotment Consultation Timeline Information Pack from the Environment and Housing directorate.

The Chair also highlighted that e-mail correspondence had been sent directly to Members of the Scrutiny Board prior to the meeting by Mr Ian Wood and Mr Tony Riley outlining their concerns regarding the Executive Board’s decision.

At this juncture, legal advice relating to the Executive Board decision was sought which warranted the exclusion of the press and public under Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (5) ‘Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings’.

The meeting then resumed in open session and Councillor Downes was invited to present the reasons for calling in the decision. These included the following:

·  That the response rate to the consultation was considered to be low (15%).

·  The consultation document was not very clear to allotment holders and presented limited options.

·  The consultation failed to fully explore the proposals put forward by the Leeds and District Allotment Gardeners Federation to help reduce costs and increase revenue.

·  The consultation document referred to the provision of allotments being subsidised by the Council by around £130K each year, when the current figure cited in the Executive Board report is now £80K.

Mr Wood, Chair of the Leeds and District Allotment Gardeners Federation, added the following points:

·  That the Leeds and District Allotment Gardeners Federation (LDAGF) welcomes a consultation on the provision of allotments and also supports the principle of price increases as historically these have been too low.

·  However, the LDAGF believes that the Council’s consultation was misleading and incomplete.

·  That the consultation document referred to both pricing and management proposals, which should have been subject to separate consultation.

·  That the LDAGF had not had sight of the final design of the consultation document.

·  The LDAGF had sent a copy of the consultation document to the Campaign for Plain English and found that did not meet its Crystal Mark Standard.

·  That reference to a ‘third party provider’ linked to Option 3 in the consultation document should have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

In accordance with Scrutiny Board Procedure Rules, to consider the Board’s formal conclusions and recommendations arising from the consideration of the called-in decision.

Following a vote by members present, it was

RESOLVED – to release the decision for implementation.

(The meeting concluded at 5.00 pm.)