Agenda and draft minutes

The Mayor welcomed fellow councillors, officers and members of the public to the special meeting of the council.

She referred with great sadnessto the recent passing of two longstanding and respected serving North Lincolnshire councillors – Councillor Steve Swift and Councillor John Briggs.The Mayor paid tribute to Councillor Steve Swift stating that he had served the people of North Lincolnshire from 1996 and before that he was a councillor on Humberside County Council. He was also a former mayor of Bottesford Town Council. He had served the people of Bottesford and Brumby with a passion that was unsurpassed.  The Mayor also paid tribute to Councillor John Briggs who was currently deputy mayor and had served the people of North Lincolnshire from 1999. He was Mayor in 2018/19 and 2022/23 and was a former Crowle town councillor and town mayor and the chairman of the Humberside Fire Authority. He had served the people of the Isle of Axholme, but particularly Axholme North with a passion and energy that all councillors continued to aspire to.

The Mayor requested that all members stand if able to for a minute’s silence to remember Councillors Steve Swift and John Briggs, and thoughts were also with their families, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.

The Leader of the Labour Group, Councillor L Foster and Leader of the Council/Conservative Group, Councillor R Waltham MBE then paid tribute on behalf of their Groups to Councillors S Swift and Councillor J Briggs.

– There were no declarations made at the meeting by members.

The Chief Executive submitted a report inviting the Council to consider and support a report on:

·       the outcomes of the public consultation on devolution proposals for Greater Lincolnshire,

·       the response of the constituent councils to the themes from the public consultation and the updated Equality Impact Assessment,

·       the amendments made to the Proposal to consider the consultation findings, and

·       the next steps, timelines and delegations set out within the report which would support devolution for Greater Lincolnshire.

The Chief Executive in her report explained that Devolution would provide an opportunity to seek the transfer of a range of powers and budgets from Government that could be targeted to local need, used to boost growth in the local economy and level up communities. It also provided the opportunity for some current local authority powers to be exercised on a wider strategic footprint.

In December 2022 the three upper tier councils of Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council, - the constituent councils – agreed to engage with government officials to secure a level 3 devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire on the basis of the devolution prospectus Devolution Greater Lincolnshire: Growth | Energy | Food. The prospectus set out the Councils’ aspirations to achieve the greatest benefits of devolution for Greater Lincolnshire and options to enhance governance arrangements through the creation of a new organisation – a Combined County Authority, chaired by a directly elected Mayor. Through extensive negotiations with government departments, the upper tier councils of Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council secured an ambitious £750 million devolution deal with government on 22 November 2023.

In November/December 2023 the three upper tier councils supported the Deal and a draft Proposal to take forward devolution to Greater Lincolnshire and agreed to formally consult with residents, businesses and other stakeholders across the upper tier council areas and the wider region. This consultation ran from December 2023 to 29 January 2024.

The report stated that decision making to submit devolution proposals to the Secretary of State was an Executive function of the Council. In accordance with process set out in the December 2022 and December 2023 Council reports, the Leader of the Council was seeking the support of the Council before taking/reaching a decision. The report and appendices under consideration by the Leader of the Council within his executive portfolio were attached as appendix 1 to this report of the Chief Executive and set out a detailed analysis of the consultation findings to support the Leader in making a decision on whether to progress with ambitions for devolution in Greater Lincolnshire. It –

·       Detailed the response of the constituent councils to the consultation findings, along with revisions to the proposal and equality impact assessment.

·       Set out that on balance, that the consultation findings were supportive of the devolution ambitions.

·       Detailed and progressed the steps required to deliver on a historic devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire and to progress the process for creation of a Combined  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.