Agenda and minutes

Proposed by Councillor Mrs French, seconded by Councillor Mrs Laws and resolved that Councillor Brenda Barber be elected as Chairman of the Council for the period to the next annual meeting and that she be paid an allowance of £4,120 plus travelling expenses.

Councillor Barber received the Chain of Office and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Councillor Barber thanked members for re-electing her and stated that her first year as Chairman has been a busy, sometimes hectic and interesting one representing the Council with visits to many different towns in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Huntingdonshire, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. She stated that she has met so many lovely people and learned a lot about the places she has visited and also she hopes helped them to learn about Fenland.

Councillor Barber gave her thanks to everyone who helped to organise and attended her afternoon tea event, which raised £938 for her chosen charity, Damsons, which is a Wisbech based community group who support those suffering from dementia and their friends, family and carers. She added that a total of £1754 has been raised altogether for Damsons over the year and she would like to support them again this year.

Councillor Barber further thanked Jo and the fantastic Member Services team who keep her on the straight and narrow, Councillor Sam Clark, her Vice-Chairman, who has been an excellent back-up, her husband, Tony, for his on-going support and all of her fellow councillors.

Proposed by Councillor Miscandlon, seconded by Councillor Christy and resolved that Councillor Sam Clark be elected as Vice-Chairman of the Council for the period to the next annual meeting and that she be paid an allowance of £1,000 plus travelling expenses.

Councillor Clark thanked members for re-electing her as Vice-Chairman and stated that she looks forward to supporting the Chairman in the coming year.

To confirm and sign the minutes of 23 February 2026 and the Extraordinary meeting of 13 March 2026.

The minutes of the meetings of 24 February and 14 March 2026 were confirmed and signed.

Councillor Barber announced that her Civic Reception is taking place on Friday 3 July 2026 from 6.30pm at Gorefield Community Hall and she looked forward to seeing as many councillors there as possible.

Councillor Barber reported that the Council has been awarded Gold accreditation from the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA), which is a nationally recognised mark of excellence for how the Council supports residents affected by domestic abuse. She continued that the Gold accreditation, the highest standard achievable, followed a rigorous assessment which found that the Council’s approach to supporting residents affected by domestic abuse not only meets national standards, but exceeds them across all eight DAHA areas, with the panel describing the Council’s work as exemplary and highlighting strong partnership working, safe and consistent case management and the compassionate, non-judgmental way in which the Council supports survivors.

Councillor Barber stated that this is a significant achievement for the Council and reflects the commitment of those who work directly with residents and partners to ensure people feel safe and supported when they come to the Council. She formally recorded her thanks to everyone involved, including the Portfolio Holder, Councillor Sam Hoy, with this accreditation being something the whole district can be proud of and it reinforces the Council’s commitment to protecting and supporting survivors of domestic abuse in Fenland.

To determine that:

1. The Annual Meeting of the Council in 2027 be held on:

Monday 17 May 2027

2. Ordinary meetings of the Council in 2026/27 be held as follows:
   Monday 13 July 2026

Monday 14 September 2026

Monday 14 December 2026

Monday 22 February 2027

The suggested meeting dates for the Annual Meeting and for the ordinary meetings of the Council for 2026/27 were proposed as follows:

·       Monday 13 July 2026

·       Monday 14 September 2026

·       Monday 14 December 2026

·       Monday 22 February 2027

·       Monday 17 May 2027.

Proposed by Councillor Barber, seconded by Councillor Boden and AGREED the proposed dates for the Annual Meeting and the ordinary meetings of the Council for 2026/27.

Councillor Barber reported that there had been no questions submitted under Procedure Rule 8.6.  Under Procedure Rule 8.4, Councillor John Clark, as the new Leader of the Opposition, was asked if he had any questions to ask.

Councillor Clark stated that he did not have any questions for this meeting but looks forward to being the Leader of the Opposition and holding the Council to account, if possible, to try and achieve good value for the taxpayer and how the Council spends its money.

Councillor Boden formally welcomed Councillor Clark as the new Leader of the Opposition, making the point that it is an important function because no one ever gets everything right and it is always good for them to be kept on their toes and for them to be subject to scrutiny.

Members asked questions of Portfolio Holders in accordance with Procedure Rules 8.1 and 8.2 as follows:

·       Councillor Gerstner referred to the good news regarding the funding of £2 million being secured from Sport England for the upgrade to Manor Leisure Centre in Whittlesey. He asked if Councillor Count has met with or does he plan to meet with the new developer and builder and how confident is he in bringing the project forward on time and to budget given the uncertainties? Councillor Count responded that it is great news that Sport England have agreed to fund £2 million towards this project, with Sport England having fed into this project from a very early stage and have made some very sensible and good alterations to the design which has been acted upon, with them agreeing to release the maximum amount permissible under this scheme. He made the point that there are two caveats, which are obtaining full planning permission, which is being considered currently, and the stop/go decision, does the Council go ahead which is a Cabinet decision that will be made later in the year. Councillor Count stated that he and the Leader met with Alliance Leisure, who are the Council’s partners and the ones appointing through their framework Speller Metcalfe, and they received a full briefing on the company, its background and credit worthiness and the Council is happy to proceed on that basis but he has not met with Speller Metcalfe directly. He added that when they move forward with further meetings he will meet with whoever is necessary and beneficial to the project to bring it forward in the fastest possible time and at the lowest possible cost. Councillor Count acknowledged that it was bad news that Curo ceased trading as the Council had been working alongside them for a long while to get the project to this stage and they were a great partner to work with but he has every confidence that Speller Metcalfe will be a good contractor based on the reports he has received about other leisure centres. He referred to time and budget, stating that he cannot give a 100% guarantee on anything, making the point it is a Cabinet decision whether the project goes ahead and that will be dependent upon many factors including timing and budget and it is not known at this time the impact of this change, he has been given confidence by officers that the process will happen on budget but it is anticipated that there may well be a later Cabinet decision because this new contractor has to look through every single detail to see if they agree with the methods of working, to see what they can mobilise and if they agree with costs and, therefore, there is likely to be a delay to the Cabinet decision but how this affects the overall programme actually being open on 1 January 2028 is uncertain. Councillor Count made the point that when Speller Metcalfe was contracted, they  ...  view the full minutes text for item C7/26

Motion submitted by Councillor Taylor on milk sold in Fenland.

Councillor Taylor presented his motion regarding milk sold in Fenland, Councillor Mrs French seconded the motion, and it was opened for debate.

Members made the following comments:

·       Councillor Tierney stated it is difficult to find milk without bovaer in it and he knows because when the controversary first came about he went looking for some because he did not want to drink it, with virtually every milk in every supermarket having it in it and it does not say it on the label but a little bit of research identifies it. He added that he does not have access to Councillor Taylor’s researchers or information, he does not know if there is any danger in bovaer or if it is just being hyped up but he does believe in transparency and customer choice and something like this should be clearly labelled so that if there are alternatives people can choose to buy them and that is why he supports this motion.

·       Councillor Christy stated that he had had a good read through the motion, his grandfather was a dairy farmer and came from a time when what is now called organic milk was actually milk, so he understands the importance of food standards, trust and the relationship between producers and consumers. He stated that he supports the principle behind this motion that consumers should have clear, honest labelling so they can make an informed choice but his only concern is that some of the references within the document he would have liked to have seen them more substantiated and it goes back to consumers having a more informed choice as well, making sure that when information is in the public domain it meets the standards our residents deserve, with clear and balanced evidence. Councillor Christy referred to the motion mentioning being sent to a number of different agencies and he would hate that to overwhelm what that is trying to achieve but he fully supports the idea of having transparent labelling and hopes that traction is achieved.

·       Councillor Patrick questioned whether this product can be found in yoghurts, cheese and other items?

·       Councillor Carney referred to mention of two main supermarkets whose milk has bovaer in it and asked if the majority of UK supermarkets obtain their milk from major milk producers and are they a class of non-organic because he assumes that organic dairy producers would not be able to use bovaer.

·       Councillor Mrs Laws asked if the Milk Marketing Board is undertaking research on this and is there any feedback from them?

·       Councillor Hoy referred to the comments from Councillor Christy and about trusting the science but people are told that as a way to shut down anyone asking any questions, although she is not suggesting that is what Councillor Christy was doing, but she has heard it so many times over the years that anytime you ask any questions that you are a denier or a conspiracy theorist. She continued that 99% of the scientists thought  ...  view the full minutes text for item C8/26

The purpose of this Report is to agree the committee structures and terms of reference for the forthcoming municipal year as well as confirming the allocation of seats to those committees and also to outside bodies in accordance with political proportionality rules and to receive notification of the appointments to committees.

Members considered the Committee Balance, Political Balance and Allocation of Seats report presented by Councillor Boden.

Councillor Boden stated that there are a couple of amendments to the report as follows:

·       Councillors Kim French and Mockett to be removed from the Audit and Risk Management Committee. He has already received a volunteer but will contacting members of his group to seek further volunteers to sit on that committee; and

·       the addition of asset protection to Councillor Imafidon’s portfolio holder responsibilities.

He stated that he invites the Leader of the Opposition to contact him at the earliest possible opportunity to inform him which outside bodies which are currently not allocated to the Fenland Independent Alliance he would like to be allocated and as he did every year with Councillor Booth he is sure they will be able to make a mutually agreeable deal to ensure that the optimal solution is made as to who will represent the Council on the outside bodies. He added that the appointments to outside bodies are not going to be made until the next meeting of Cabinet in June.

Proposed by Councillor Boden, seconded by Councillor Mrs French and AGREED:

·       to approve the Committees and Panels set out at Appendix A for the 2026/27 municipal year;

·       the terms of reference set out at Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution in relation to the committees and panels referred to at paragraph 3.1;

·       the politically proportionate allocation of seats to Committees and Panels as set out in Appendix B;

·       the allocation of seats and position of Chairman and Vice Chairman also as set out in Appendix B;

·       the appointments to seats allocated in accordance with paragraph 3.4 above (Appendix B) including any co-opted or non-members;

·       the list of Outside Bodies as set out at Appendix C for 2026/27;

·       the politically proportionate allocation of seats to Outside Bodies all as set out in Appendix C; and

·       to note that the distribution of seats amongst Outside Bodies, to achieve overall political proportionality based on the allocations approved at paragraph 3.7 above and the subsequent appointments to those seats will be discussed between Group Leaders and presented for approval at the next meeting of Cabinet on 15 June 2026.

This report requests the Council to make appointments to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for the municipal year 2026/27. 

Members considered the Combined Authority Membership Appointments report, and the Chairman drew members attention to an addendum to the report which had been circulated as to the revised nominations to the seats on the Combined Authority.

Proposed by Councillor Boden, seconded by Councillor Mrs Laws and AGREED to:

·       appoint the Leader of Council to act as the Council's appointee to the Combined Authority, with Councillor Hoy to act as his substitute;

·       appoint Councillors Woollard and Hay to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the CPCA, with Councillors Foice-Beard and Mockett as substitutes;

·       appoint Councillor Christy to the Audit and Governance Committee of the CPCA, with Councillor Wallwork as substitute;

·       note the Leader’s nominated appointments to the Thematic Committees as set out at Appendix 3; and

·       delegate authority to the Chief Executive to make any amendments to the appointments to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Audit and Governance Committee in consultation with the Political Group Leaders as required between now and the next Annual Meeting of Council.

To recommend Council approve entry into a Section 113 Agreement with Huntingdonshire District Council for the provision of an interim Transport Manager pending recruitment or considerations of alternative arrangements. 

Members considered entry into a Section 113 Agreement with Huntingdonshire District Council for the provision of an interim Transport Manager presented by Councillor Tierney.

Members made comments as follows:

·       Councillor J Clark asked, with a planned retirement, why the Council has not trained somebody up or a deputy that could be trained up or made any plans for the retirement?

·       Councillor Nawaz stated that given the situation and LGR recruiting a new manager is going to be unwise and he feels this is a sensible arrangement as this Council may end up with Huntingdonshire after LGR.

·       Councillor Tierney in summing up stated that an organisation such as this Council is always looking for what it might do in the future when people retire but sometimes situations occur, like LGR, which causes staff to make fairly sudden decisions or bring forward decisions that they might have waited a bit longer for. He added that he does not know this particular individual’s situation but he suspects a lot of authorities are going to be facing this sort of situation where people have to decide what to do with the rest of their career and that is going to leave a lot of authorities uncertain how to proceed for the remaining period of time. Councillor Tierney accepted that it is not the perfect situation but thinks this is the best way forward.

Proposed by Councillor Tierney, seconded by Councillor Nawaz and AGREED to enter into a Section 113 agreement with Huntingdonshire District Council for the provision of suitably qualified Transport Manager to be named on the Council’s Operators License with the Traffic Commissioner and delegate to the Monitoring Officer to finalise and enter into any legal agreement in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

(Councillor Marks declared that he deals with Huntingdonshire District Council and the recycling team, and took no part in the discussion and voting thereon)

Members considered recommending to Council approval to enter into a Section 113 agreement with two other authorities for ARP to provide Single Person Discount Fraud Services presented by Councillor Mrs French

Members made comments on the proposal.

Proposed by Councillor Mrs French, seconded by Councillor Imafidon and AGREED to approve a Section 113 agreement to enable ARP Officers to provide a single person discount fraud service to the two named authorities within the report.

(Members resolved to exclude the public from the meeting for this item of business on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)