Earley Town Council

Minutes of a meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Radstock Lane, Earley, Berkshire on Wednesday, 18^th July 2007 commencing at 7.45 pm.

Councillors Anne Ames, Mrs L Chambers, C J W Edmunds (from 7.55pm), M J Firmager, and Mrs Jenny Lissaman.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A T Bradley (Borough Council Meeting), N Jorgensen (Holiday) and T Maher.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held on 13^th June 2007 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

Consideration was given to the Minutes of the Youth & Community Sub-Committee held on 26^th June 2007, a copy of which is appended to these Minutes for the information of Members only.

2. because of the contractual nature of the Memorandum of Understanding, item 5.1.2 be considered within the closed section of the meeting.

Members were reminded that, at Minute 30 of the Town Council meeting held on 27^th June 2007, a number of amendments were proposed to the Draft Town Plan and it was resolved that a draft of paragraphs to be included in the introduction section, relating to the different responsibilities of the Borough Council and the Town Council, should be circulated to the Chairmen of the Standing Committees, the leaders of the majority and opposition groups, and the Town Mayor for consideration and approval. A draft of the additional paragraphs to be included in the Introduction section was circulated to Members at the meeting.

The Town Clerk advised that the Town Plan would be reviewed, as stated in the introduction, at least every two years and Members noted that, within those periods, some of the objectives would have been achieved. Therefore, the Town Plan was very much an active document and Members were advised that this should be borne in mind when referring to the Plan.

In response to a comment from a Member, consideration was given to an amendment of the last two paragraphs of the draft, which had been circulated at the meeting, to further clarify the Town Council’s working relationship with the Borough and to add that residents were welcome to contact the Town Council or attend meetings to give their views. A copy of the further amendments are appended to these Minutes for the information of Members only.

Members were advised that, in October 2004, the then Wokingham District Council adopted a Licensing Policy and, under Paragraph 15.1, it was stated that the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy would be published every three years. Consequently, because the current Policy was approaching three years old, the Borough Council had invited comments on the document.

The Borough Council advised that the existing Policy had been applied without any problems arising and it did not propose any changes. Notwithstanding, the Licensing & Appeals Committee of the Borough Council would consider any comments received prior to a new Policy being adopted. A copy of the existing Policy was attached to the Agenda for the information of Members.

The Town Clerk further advised that the Borough Council did consult with and notify the Town Council on Licensing issues as necessary and, accordingly, it was

RESOLVED that the support of Earley Town Council for the Policy, unamended, be conveyed to the Borough Council.

The Town Clerk reported receipt of a Briefing Paper which described how Wokingham CAB contributed to the lives of the Borough's older people, copies of which were circulated to Members at the meeting. He informed the Committee that the Bureau Trustee Board would be discussing the paper at its next meeting and would be deciding the best way for the Bureau to continue to ensure that it served the older population in ways that were relevant to them and that it could meet their future needs.

Feedback was invited by the CAB but, because the next Board Meeting would be held on 22^nd August, this item had been placed on the supplementary agenda for this Committee, rather than being referred to the Youth & Community Sub-Committee, which would not meet again before that date.

Concern was expressed that, because the client profile only represented around 2.3% of the population, the number of Earley residents on the client list might be less than the criteria set for the level of grant aid from the Town Council. Members were of the opinion that it would be helpful to receive a breakdown of profile by Parish within the Borough, to enable the information to be considered prior to the grant aid meeting in order to ensure that the distribution of funding was accurate between both Wokingham and Reading CAB’s.

Members noted, with concern, that the age of the CAB’s debt clients had increased and that work was required to increase benefit take-up. The Committee, therefore, requested further information with regard to the nature of complex debt advice and how this Council could help address the benefit take-up situation. It was, further, noted that there appeared to be some conflict between items 3 and 5 of the Briefing Paper and, furthermore, there did not appear to be any clarification as to whether each paragraph referred to local or national issues. Accordingly it was

RECOMMENDED that the Town Clerk seek further information from the Wokingham CAB as outlined in the preamble to this Minute.

The Committee noted details of Orders for Payment paid since the last meeting of the Town Council.

In response to a question from a Member in respect of the mobile phone account, the Town Clerk informed Members that the phones were issued to a number of the Town Council staff for a variety of different reasons to include Caretakers and lone workers. He monitored the invoices on receipt and the contract with the mobile phone company was reviewed on a regular basis.

1. the various accounts set out on the attached list (Vouchers 147 - 177) be paid in the sums as stated and details of the Imprest Vouchers (049 - 072) be noted

2. the Town Clerk advise Members of the date of the last mobile phone contract review.

The Committee noted that the following items had been received and were available for viewing in the Council Chamber: